Alumna Katie Gavin’s Path from Beach Volleyball to Business

Rising to her 4:50 AM alarm was how Katie Gavin Goldberg (’21, MS ’22), alumna of Pepperdine’s beach volleyball program, would often begin her mornings. Stepping outside her residence hall, Gavin would follow a pathway blanketed by coastal mist to Pepperdine University’s weight room. 

Rigorous weight training and cardio at a time before most of Malibu was awake was how Gavin prepared for collegiate beach volleyball. Such drive remains reflective of Gavin’s character today. 

Since earning two college diplomas—the former from Seaver College and the latter from the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School—Gavin has moved from the gritty sands of volleyball games to closing multimillion dollar deals in commercial investment sales. She is confident that her career as a student-athlete prepared her for a successfully launched professional life. 

“Working for something greater than myself is the number one thing that woke me up in the morning,” says Gavin. “The whole reason I am the person I am today is because of playing beach volleyball at Pepperdine. It taught me how to be a part of a team. I learned to work toward something beyond myself.” 

Rally Up

Since childhood, Gavin’s athletic talents flourished on the volleyball court, from diving across the hardwood floors keeping the rally alive to commanding serves that soared like arrows across the net. 

During her junior year of high school Gavin transitioned from the indoor game to beach volleyball, as her athletic successes gained visibility through prestigious summer tournaments. Her skill soon caught the attention of college recruiters, including Marcio Sicoli (MA ’15), head coach of Pepperdine’s beach volleyball program, and Nina Matthies, the former head coach. 

Katie Gavin playing for Pepperdine's beach volleyball team 

“I had always dreamed of playing volleyball in college,” says Gavin. Thus it only seemed logical to continue an athletic career in beach volleyball at Pepperdine, an institution where the sandy stretch of the Malibu Coast is only minutes away. Despite the surrounding natural beauty, Gavin maintains it was “the team culture that made me fall in love with the campus.” 

Gavin recounts her first time meeting the Pepperdine team as a high schooler on one of the windiest days at Zuma Beach. Beachgoers' hats were flying off their heads as umbrellas were being uprooted from their sand bearings. Yet "unbelievably high winds" failed to stop each player's grit. 

Gavin committed to the team thereafter.  Following a triumphant three years, Gavin was promoted to team captain in her senior year, where she led her team to the West Coast Conference tournament final for the sixth straight season. 

Sicoli recalls that even with odds stacked against her—team members over six feet towered above Gavin—her indefatigable drive paired with an effervescent joy naturally led her into a place of leadership. 

“Early on I saw what a detail-oriented thinker and a true competitor she was,” says Sicoli. “Despite the roller coaster of playing Division I sports, she never quit on her goals and was always looking for solutions to her challenges.” 

“I was always playing for my teammates, who I all considered my friends, and especially all the first-years on the team,” adds Gavin. “Utimately I was playing for Pepperdine.” 

Beyond the Court

Gavin was interested in not only the tactical nature of the sport and the roars of the crowd at Seaver, but she was also intrigued by the classes in her sport administration major. 

Alongside coursework spanning finance, marketing, and event operations, Gavin explains that one of her most formative experiences came in the classroom of baseball executive Ned Colletti, executive in residence in sport administration and former general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gavin recalls that Colletti was always available to offer guidance as she navigated a demanding academic schedule alongside her beach volleyball commitments. Having spent years managing teams of professional athletes, Colletti understood firsthand how to advise Gavin in her determination to do both at the highest level.

"During her time in the classes I taught at Pepperdine, you could always count on her participation, thought process, and work ethic to be very strong, respectful, and true," says Colletti.

Today Gavin considers Ned Colletti "definitely more of a mentor than a professor,” even joking that Colletti even "converted me from an Angels to a Dodgers fan."

During the summer following her junior year, Gavin had planned to intern with the Los Angeles Angels. When the internship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gavin found herself with time to reflect on the life she wanted to lead following graduation. 

The Next Team

Asking herself "Why not continue at Pepperdine?" Gavin enrolled at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. The school provided the comfort of staying with her “Pepperdine family” and the ability to keep cultivating her network while she took the next steps in her career. 

Justin Goldberg proposed to then Katie Gavin at Pepperdine's very own Heroes Garden

Gavin studied in the master of science in real estate program, which she now calls the "perfect environment”: its curriculum was both analytical and challenging, and it also offered the social and networking opportunities she desired to fortify her business skills. 

Though away from the court, Gavin found herself soon to “join two new teams.” The first a romantic partnership, and the second a new career. 

Justin Goldberg (MS '22) courted Gavin during their time as graduate students, during which the pair kept finding striking similarities between themselves, including both their fathers hailing from New York and their mothers from Michigan. 

After a sweet proposal on Valentine's Day at the University's Heroes Garden—Gavin calls their pairing “Pepperdine through and through”—the couple recently tied the knot in Beverly Hills. 

At Gavin’s other “new team,” Cushman & Wakefield Capital Markets, she now works in commercial real estate investment sales. Among her favorite sales is Malibu Village in 2023, which sold for $81.9 million.

Katie Gavin often returns to campus to speak with current students

Though far from walking misty pathways to Pepperdine weight  rooms, the spirit of team work remains with Gavin: "I just want our team to be the most successful team in our realm, which is commercial real estate. I love being part of a team dynamic and working towards a common goal.” 

“I consider Gavin a role model for Pepperdine students,” says Sicoli. “She represents herself with integrity, faith, and service. We saw these characteristics shaping up during her years with our program. I am positive Gavin will continue to be a great leader of Christian faith and service to others."

Echoing Sicoli’s sentiments, Gavin herself hopes to be a role model for college athletes looking to balance passions for athletics and for the career world. Gavin's life shows you can do both, and do them well.

"Pepperdine really impacted me," Gavin concludes. "I went from a young, impressionable girl playing beach volleyball and left a confident person knowing that Pepperdine provided me with everything for a great life."