As my internship placement with the Centre for Sport Capacity (CSC) comes to a close today, reflecting on the eventful and knowledge-packed semester due to the efforts of my team and I collaborating with many different partners and members is rewarding.
To begin, my most memorable experience during my tenure was hosting the CSC Soccer Social Event. This event consisted of a networking panel with two of our partner clubs, and a watch party of the National Canada Men’s Soccer Team. Adding this experience under the CSC’s event history was an exciting learning experience and it was incredible to see all the students coming out to support!
The growth of the CSC Instagram and LinkedIn was a focus throughout my placement. The CSC holds a special place within Brock as we are able to provide services and experiences to both Brock Faculty and the student body alike! With a starting goal of increasing our visibility within the Brock community, I made strong efforts to tailor our content to the very multi-oriented audience that the CSC has. By completing member features, research promotions, events, and interviews, I made sure to provide content that would cater to many different demographics. The CSC Instagram in particular has increased engagement by reaching many accounts in the last couple of months. The specific measure of increase was +800% since the time I started! Furthermore, our profile visits and link taps increased +100%. The link taps included our members’ work that we featured, interview promotions, organization and internship opportunity promotions, and more. The CSC has also communicated directly with the Brock Sport and Business Association to promote their networking event in March, and the SPMA Council through a highly successful collaborative post on Instagram. I committed to adding a creative appeal to all the research, developmental experiences, internship opportunities, and events that I promoted!
The CSC has also added 3 new community partners in just the few months I have been interning. I truly value all our partnerships, and I’ve made sure to connect with each on multiple occasions to make sure they know the CSC values them as an organization. Partnering with Burlington Soccer Club, Dance Champions, and Niagara 1812 Football Club has not only increased the centre’s visibility within our local community, but has also provided brand new content and industry leading faces that our audience has not seen before! Some examples include Samantha Stewart the CMO of Burlington Soccer Club, Carmine Provenzano the COO of Niagara 1812, and Andrew Rusk the owner and director of Dance Champions. As a centre we have done extension collaborations through completing partner interviews, highlighting partners at the Soccer Social networking panel, and developing internship placements, aligning with our mission to continue improving the sportscape locally. Looking into the future, the CSC Director, Dr. Taylor McKee, has offered me the position to become the official Director of Marketing, Communications and Events! I was honoured to be offered this upgraded position, and I look forward to continue making an impact within our community as I complete my Master of Arts (Sport Management Specialization -Thesis route) starting September 2026!
I’ve noticed I now have a new perspective on the Brock community after working so closely with many different departments and faculty. I started with the CSC as a new undergrad student in January of 2023, and I’ve worked towards a leadership role. Working for the centre has been paramount in learning my career path and goals. Transitioning from the student being supported to supporting new SPMA students was an incredible rewarding journey I saw through the development initiative of the CSC Soccer Working Group this semester. The CSC has also recently launched another student-led initiative called the Sports Performance Analytics (SPA) Lab. As the research communications coordinator for this lab, I will further enhance student experiences at Brock by allowing students to publish their own and analyze comprehensive sport industry research.
One thing I would tell future interns working for the centre is to enjoy the experience and don’t forget to have fun! The semester went quickly as tasks do build up. Some examples include connecting with partners and members, scheduling weekly meetings with staff, coordinating off-campus experiences for students, organizing prizes and event plans, and leading marketing campaigns. I will continue to reflect on this experience to transfer all the skills I’ve learned into the future with me as the Director of Marketing, Communications and Events for the CSC and my future studies.
and research promotion.