We’re proud of the many NIU Esports alumni who are pursuing meaningful careers, and we love to share their stories here.
This month, we reconnected with Austin Biel, NIU class of 2025 (major: electrical engineering). As he pursues a career in electrical engineering, Austin is also sharing his skills as a shoutcaster for NIU Varsity matches – offering play by play and color commentary for our twitch.tv livestreams.
Thanks for speaking to us, Austin! What did you do as part of NIU Esports when you were a student? Were you part of any other NIU clubs or organizations?
I was a varsity player for all four years of school on the Overwatch team. I was not in any other clubs, but I was an undergraduate researcher for a professor in my department for three years.
What do you love most about NIU Esports?
What I love most about NIU Esports is the friends and connections I made through the program. Some of my closest friends I will keep for life I met from either my own varsity team or the other titles and people in the NIU Esports space.
Can you tell us a little about your career journey since graduating from NIU?
Since graduating, I have been working as an Electrical Engineer at Kaney Aerospace while continuing to be involved in NIU Esports as a caster for several varsity titles.
How did you get into shoutcasting, and what do you enjoy about it?
I got into shoutcasting around my sophomore year when I heard that there was a need for casters for varsity Valorant or there wouldn’t be any streams. From that point on, I expanded into League of Legends, as there was only one caster at the time. During my Junior and Senior year, on my own team, if we were not in for the current map, we would be on the stream, so that also got me more experience with casting. My favorite part of shoutcasting is simply enjoying the game and bringing excitement to the other people watching the match.
What do you want the broader NIU community to know about NIU Esports, shoutcasting, or esports in general?
I would love the NIU community to know that Esports is alive and well on campus. There are so many opportunities to get involved, and just as many resources to simply enjoy your time at school. The Esports community at NIU is very welcoming and is a great place to meet new people and try new things. If anyone has interest in Esports or in shoutcasting, they should absolutely stop by the arena at Altgeld Hall and just talk to people or ask questions. Several interns and graduate assistants would be enthusiastic to help get more people into Esports.
There might be some very neat plans for shoutcasting and varsity games in the future, so be on the lookout. And if anyone has any interest in participating, please reach out!
