Emma Fedorchuk is a fourth-year Media and Communication Studies student at Brock University. She is interning with the Centre for Sport Capacity this Fall and Winter as our Marketing and Communications Assistant.
Hello, my name is Emma Fedorchuk! I was recently brought on board with the Centre for Sport Capacity as a Marketing and Communications Intern and will be working with the Centre until April. I am currently in my last year at Brock as I work to complete my degree in Media and Communication Studies and am really trying to get the most I possibly can out of my final year. I am currently enrolled in a course titled “Internship in Communication, Popular Culture, or Film” (COMM 4F00), which allowed me to get involved in a part-time placement related to my field of study. The class gave us a list of placement opportunities and the CSC as well as the Brock-Canada Games positions immediately caught my eye. My interest and love for sport, paired with the tasks that both placements planned to assign to interns (social media upkeep, website management, marketing, event support, etc.) made me extremely excited for both roles. I worked on my resume and cover letters with Anneka Bosse, the coordinator for the course, and after multiple weeks of implementing various changes, I finally sent them off. After conducting the interviews, I realized that the Centre for Sport Capacity internship would probably be a better fit for my skill set, and happily, I was offered the position and eagerly accepted.
Although I am now a retired athlete, sport still holds an irreplaceable space in my heart and I am forever indebted to the lessons that these games have taught me. Whether it was hockey, soccer, rowing, or badminton, I was always excited to pack up my bags and head off to a practice, a game, a race, or a match, not only because that meant I got to play the sport I loved, but because I got to be a part of the various communities that surround these games. In the past, I have worked and volunteered in various sport-related positions, whether that be reffing 5-year-olds on the soccer field or coaching young girls in development hockey camps, so I was very excited to get involved with the CSC to further my sports involvement, and to put the skills that I have accumulated through my schooling to the test in a workplace setting.
I am lucky enough to have also secured a position with the Niagara River Lions as a Journalism Intern, which will provide me with even more insight about working in the world of sport. In this position, I am responsible for interviewing coaches, players, partners, etc., and developing, writing, and editing articles for the team website. Already this position has exposed me to the inner workings of a sport organization and continues to demonstrate how sport isn’t just about what happens out on the court/field/ice/water etc., rather, it is overwhelmingly about bringing communities together and giving them something to cheer about.
There are many reasons why working with the CSC peaked my interest: their impressive list of research projects, the fantastic forums and webinars that they host, and their focus on knowledge mobilization, just to name a few. But I was especially excited about the fact that the CSC is still a relatively new organization who have only just begun to establish their brand. Joining the team at such an early stage, and being able to bring the ideas I have to the open ears and minds of the CSC team, has already energized me and motivated me to want to work diligently within the organization. In turn, I am very eager to help come up with new ideas that will showcase all of the amazing things that the Centre has to offer.
I believe that the contemporary perspective I have surrounding social media and marketing will be helpful to the Centre, and will aid in making the content that the CSC produces more accessible for a larger audience to consume, participate in, and enjoy. As a member of Generation Z, it is no surprise that social media is a part of my day-to-day life, as my daily usage report on my phone will attest to. In my days of scrolling through the multitude of platforms that the individuals in Silicon Valley have so carefully crafted to keep my attention, I have been exposed to not only the various emerging trends that seem to pop up on a daily basis, but also to the dos and don’ts of implementing and maintaining a brand image that will be effective in engaging a specific audience. I think that I’ll be able to provide the CSC with a fresh set of eyes when it comes to getting our message out to our community.
During my time with the Centre, I hope to learn more about the inner workings of the CSC organizational culture and build professional relationships with various members of the Centre. I am excited to marry the theoretical that I have learned in an educational setting, to the practical that is hands-on work experience itself. I am confident that this work experience will be extremely helpful to the improvement of my hard and soft skills, and will help me expand my knowledge of the unlimited potential that working in sport has to offer. I am extremely excited to have been brought on board and can’t wait to get the ball rolling with some fantastic content!