Taking the plunge...
November 23, 2009
Stuart McCormick made some major changes in his life in 2008! Working as a plumber in the construction industry in Vancouver paid the bills, but it didn’t allow McCormick to fulfill his passion for professional sport. McCormick decided to pursue that passion and enrolled in the Sport Management diploma program at Camosun.
Students in the sport management program are required to complete an internship, and McCormick was excited to secure a position with the BC Lions. Jamie Taras, Director of Community Relations with the BC Lions, frequently hires internship students and enjoys the youthful exuberance they bring to the work place. “You get a keen employee who really wants to get involved, shows a willingness to learn and has the drive and desire to succeed,” says Taras.
You can do it!
McCormick has some words of advice for other students. “Be determined! You have to be confident in yourself before others will have confidence in you. Tell yourself that you will accomplish your goal and start taking the necessary steps to make it happen.” McCormick did exactly that when he contacted Taras independently in pursuit of his internship position with the BC Lions.”I was impressed with Stuart’s initiative. He had a good attitude for the job and understands the business,” says Taras.
Fulfilling a dream
Interns are given responsibility early on, working on projects such as player appearances requested by a charitable organization. McCormick was responsible from start to finish—initiating the event, securing a player, organizing all the details and often accompanying the player to the event. He also coordinated the Every Yard Counts program for children BC Children’s Hospital—an experience McCormick found very rewarding. During the BC Lions home games, the children have an opportunity to watch the pregame warm up on the field during and meet some of the players afterwards.
Any sport works
The internship experience helped McCormick realize that he would be happy working with any professional sport as a career. His first love is hockey but now he knows that the skills and experience he gained is transferrable in most sport environments. McCormick found the networking opportunities during his work term to be extremely valuable. “I met some very influential people in the area of professional sport in BC. It is just a matter of making a great first impression and following that up with hard work.”
Find out more at Co-operative Education @ Camosun
