Articles tagged with: Experiential Learning

  • Hazel Campbell: Winter 2021 Forum & Webinar Coordinator

     Hazel Campbell is a fourth-year Sport Management student at Brock University. She is completing a placement with the Centre for Sport Capacity this Winter as our Forum & Webinar Coordinator.

    Are you worried about graduating from university without gaining practical experience in your field? With my graduation date rapidly approaching, I was constantly worried that I would enter the workforce without the experience employers want. When I discovered the position of CSC Forum & Webinar Coordinator, I realized it was the perfect opportunity to gain experience in a professional setting.

    During my time at Brock, I learned a great deal about internship opportunities, but not about other experiential education options. I was thrilled to learn from Dr. Julie Stevens, CSC Director, about the possibility of doing a placement for course credit. Through this option, I will do a hands-on placement at the CSC, while also completing course assignments under the supervision of Dr. Stevens, Director, and Cole McClean, Coordinator. This is a unique, self-directed program where I help design the course structure and content, as well as my projects and tasks.

    Unlike the two-credit internship course, the independent study placement is only half a credit, meaning it requires fewer hours while still providing invaluable experience. This is an exciting option for students interested in taking additional credits simultaneously, or those with other commitments, such as work. I am glad I learned about these sorts of experiential education courses before my degree ended and I recommend students explore this option.

    As Forum & Webinar Coordinator, I will gain practical experience in event management, marketing, and communications. Through this position, I will improve my transferrable skills such as time management, organization, teamwork, and leadership. I think most students would be able to find skills that they could improve on through this placement since the responsibilities are so vast. Improving these skills will ensure success, regardless of what career path someone chooses to take.

    I am thrilled to put my Sport Management knowledge into action in a workplace setting and be part of the team that will create an exciting and engaging 2021 Safe Sport Forum.

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    Categories: Blog, Students

  • Matthew Kapogines: Fall 2020 Webinar Coordinator

    Matthew Kapogines is a Sport Management student at Brock University, who, after working with the CSC as an Assistant Coordinator, returned to work as our Webinar Coordinator for the Fall 2020 semester. Read on to hear Matt’s thoughts after completing his placement with the Centre for Sport Capacity. 

    Do you want to develop your skill set and leadership abilities, while working towards a meaningful goal? I did, and that is why I decided to inquire about a position with the Centre for Sport Capacity (CSC). Through this experience I learned about the CSC’s mission and goals. I learned that the Centre is a hub for sport management research, and for communicating important information to Local, Provincial and even National Sport Organizations across the country. The Centre has aspirations to expand the scope of their communications about new sport related information globally, with the hopes that the findings they share will positively impact the sport sector world-wide.

    In the fall of 2020, I secured my position as a Webinar Coordinator to develop a sport communications platform. The purpose of this platform was to encourage various local sport organizations, from all different sports sectors, to share information about themselves and increase their visibility via webinars. In my placement as Webinar Coordinator, I developed new skills and enhanced all existing skills like leadership, problem solving, communications and time management, which are all important in every workplace. I learned that communications within a team is crucial to the success of one’s event or project, and more about online communication strategies. This placement allowed me to grow my skills and become a more productive, resourceful and helpful team player.

    During my placement, some responsibilities included  creating PowerPoint templates that reflected the Centre’s image, setting up and developing an email platform to help communicate webinars, as well as planning and helping deliver four webinars alongside CSC or community members, and other partners (See Past Webinars). I had to ensure final webinar materials coincided with the Centre’s image. Time management, focus, and organizational skills were essential during this placement because of the number of different webinars that needed simultaneous attention. In addition to strengthening my current skills and learning about webinar creation, I also contributed to the Centre’s visibility by playing a major role in the setting-up of their new campaign moderator platform along with communication materials that will assist future CSC webinar coordinators in their placements. I even had the opportunity to moderate a webinar and ask questions that were submitted by the audience to the presenter. At first I was very anxious and nervous, but by the end of the first webinar I realized it was not too bad and I was much more confident in my abilities. Overall, I am proud of both my contributions to CSC and of my new gained confidence.

    My advice to future students who are working with the CSC, is to check your email multiple times per day to ensure you do not miss anything important that needs to be done immediately because there are a lot of unexpected and time sensitive tasks that pop up. Also, do not be afraid to ask questions because that is how missteps are avoided. Asking questions is also an important part of building knowledge. Both the CSC faculty and staff were very helpful and supportive during my placement. I would therefore strongly recommend that the new incumbent take full advantage of their insights and knowledge. I think the CSC’s visibility will grow over the coming years and they will become a major player and contributor in the sport sector as they are identifying and facilitating the hard conversations that can get overlooked. Facilitating these conversations as well as working with sport organizations and governments to ensure tools exist to address inequities can help make both sport and workplaces more inclusive and healthier environments.

    The Centre for Sport Capacity has given me an awareness of the issues in sport and has prepared me to be a force of good. Being a part of the Centre and creating informational webinars for sport organizations has made me more aware and sensitive to the issues around equality and the strategies that need to be developed to address them. My newly gained knowledge in this sector coupled with my existing knowledge in sport have empowered me to help organizations with reducing stereotyping, and champion for the return of ‘fun’ in sport that is ‘inclusive’ for all. My time with the CSC has helped build my sport philosophy in a more inclusive way that I will be carrying into my professional life.

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    Categories: Blog, Students