Hi again! To reintroduce myself, I am Georgia Rudolph. I am a fourth-year student in the media and communications program at Brock University and I am wrapping up my 8-month internship as an events, marketing, and communications assistant at the Centre for Sport Capacity. I completed this internship as a part of the fourth year course; COMM4F00. Following the conclusion of this semester, I will be graduating with my undergraduate degree.

My time at the Centre was a fundamental aspect of my education here at Brock. Throughout my internship, I was able to effectively apply the skills and concepts that I have learned throughout my undergraduate degree in order to prepare myself for the workforce. One of the key insights I gained through my time with the Centre is the importance of collaboration. During my time at the CSC I was able to work alongside many amazing staff and partners of the Centre, all of whom offered me valuable advice. Having a great team whom offers beneficial input truly showed me how much can be learned from our peers.

While I was able to contribute to many CSC projects and events, an experience that I found to be extremely gratifying and educational was my involvement with the Sport Support Team (SST). The SST is a new initiative to the CSC which launched in January of this year. The goal of the SST was to assist in enhancing local sport association operations in several functional areas to achieve improved capacity following the struggles created by the pandemic. To do so, the Centre recruited and trained several student volunteers who were then paired with a local sport organization. These students contributed to the organization by assisting with fundamental tasks needed to support the operation of these non-profit organizations. As an athlete myself I have seen the detrimental impacts the pandemic has had on many local sport organizations. Being able to offer assistance to these organizations, while also offering students experiential learning opportunities is extremely gratifying. I am honored to have contributed to this program, and I cannot wait to see what the future of the SST holds.

My role within the SST consisted of managing the start-up of the program, as the CSC team got this new initiative off the ground. I was responsible for managing many of the volunteer applications, as well as interviewing students interested in the role. As we got the SST running, our team organized professional development training sessions for the students in order to prepare them for their work with their partner sport organization. Furthermore, I was a contact point for our partner organizations as a way for them to outline their specific needs from the SST initiative, and to pair students with their partner organizations based on skills and interests. This experience was very exciting for me, as it allowed me to further develop skills in effective communication, and leadership.

The CSC offered me many opportunities to further develop professional skills that will transfer into my future career. During my time with the Centre, I was able to gain experience in event planning through the management of the CSC Sport and Environment series. The series consisted of three webinars, each with expert keynote speakers whomst conduct research within the field. Being responsible for the effective planning and execution of this series was a huge accomplishment for me, and certainly taught me a lot about the various aspects of event planning

As I reflect on my time at the Centre, I am immensely grateful for the wide array of experiences offered. I feel that I was able to bring skills that I had already developed, such as digital content creation, and use these skills to expand the CSC’s digital reach. Furthermore, being able to work in a team environment where my voice is valued allowed for me to share my perspective on CSC events and content as the team worked together to improve the Centre’s output.

As graduation quickly approaches, my next steps are starting to fall into place. This May, I will be starting a role as a customer engagement co-ordinator for a company within the sports industry. This role will allow me to draw upon my experience at the CSC, and further the skills I have been able to develop throughout my internship.