As I head into my final days here at the Centre for Sport Capacity (CSC) as the Marketing, Communications, and Event Intern, I can look back at an amazing three months of professional and personal growth.
Throughout the internship, I had the opportunity to work on many amazing projects that covered all the bases of marketing, communications, and events. My work at the CSC encompassed a variety of roles. To begin with, I was responsible for managing our social media accounts, across Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and Facebook. During the internship, we saw tremendous growth in our social media metrics, especially on LinkedIn where we experienced a record month in July in terms of engagements (15,811), reactions (624), and impressions (8,714). In terms of social media marketing, I learned new skills in areas such as:
Perhaps the most notable achievement of my time at the CSC was the development of the Centre’s new fee-for-service model, SportService, which is a professional service that is focused on expanding the capacity of sport organizations. This project challenged me in many ways and allowed me to develop a greater understanding of some of the issues many sport organizations are facing today. One of my favorite Sport Management courses thus far at Brock, SPMA 3P05, highlights that internal capacity is one of the major challenges non-profit sport organizations face. Through our conversations with community partners and members, I observed firsthand the impact internal capacity challenges can have on an organization, and how services like SportService can provide support in various areas such as event management, marketing, and communications.
On June 27th, we hosted the Thriving Indigenous Sport Organizations webinar, which highlighted the success story of the Manitoba Aboriginal Sports & Recreation Council (MASRC). This event provided me with an opportunity to explore creative branding and marketing strategies, as well as learning how to host an event and engage your audience on an online platform.
I also played a significant role in the 2024 Niagara Hope on the Horizon workshop in a number of areas, such as sponsorship, marketing, on-site event support, and event photography. The Hope on the Horizon workshop expanded my skills in event management and one of the biggest takeaways is the attention to detail that is required to execute a great event is no small task. From designing the program to considering sponsorship representation on the day of the event, every detail counts.
One of the more memorable experiences from this role was our work at the 140th Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. Being involved with a significant Canadian sporting event was a thrilling opportunity for the Centre. Assigned as the Chair of Admissions, our role involved overseeing recruitment, scheduling, and management of 40+ volunteers, totaling around 70 shifts throughout the event week. It was an enriching experience that provided numerous learning opportunities in areas such as volunteer management, event logistics, and event preparation. This experience also allowed me to interact with various individuals in the sport industry and the dedicated volunteers who supported us – who were amazing to work with. A key lesson learned throughout my time at the event was that well delivered events require well-informed decision making, regardless of the specific area of responsibility, and sometimes quick and in the moment.
My time at the CSC has definitely impacted my career goals looking forward, not only has the work we conducted throughout the summer opened my eyes to various potential career paths and areas of interest, but the work and opinions of the CSC members and the passions many have for the industry has motivated me to want to further improve on my education and find an area of interest in the sport industry that I’m passionate about.
The internship at the CSC is an immensely valuable opportunity for future students, the role provides you a wide array of exposure to different fields of interest, such as marketing, communications, and event management. For those students who are potentially unsure what field they want to pursue post-graduation, this opportunity would be ideal. Looking back on February of this year when I was applying to potential internships, I wanted to be in an organization that allowed me to be creative and have an impact – not only during my time in the role but also looking beyond my time. Dr. Julie Stevens and Grace Nelson allowed that to happen, by entrusting me to be creative and innovative, which I believe was the most important factor in my achievements in the past few months with the Centre. I am grateful to Dr. Julie Stevens and Grace Nelson for the incredible chance to grow and learn in such a unique environment.