At the moment, one big part of my life is working while being a student. Juggling work and academics can be tricky at times, but I’ve found that working for Laurier while studying at Laurier has been a good fit for me! Some of the reasons why I love it are that there is respect for the fact that you are still a student, and academics remain a priority. This means no work is expected of you during exams and that you’re never expected to miss classes. I also appreciate how people respect the work-school balance that students face and understand that students can get overwhelmed or overworked. That’s ok!
It’s come to my attention that many students don’t know about all the work opportunities available on campus, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to talk about my experience working on campus for Laurier Varsity Athletics!
I work as a communications assistant, media assistant, in-game host and a member of the promotions and marketing team for Laurier Athletics. I started working with the athletics department during the summer of my second year as a communications assistant, and I’ve never looked back! I’ve been lucky enough to take on a handful of roles over the years, and I’ve gained a lot of exposure working in sports. For me, the more comfortable and confident I became in what I was doing, the more I was able to take on.
As a fourth-year student wanting to work in sports post-grad, references and networking opportunities are some of the main things on my mind right now. Because of this and my love for the jobs I’ve been working at, a lot of my life revolves around work. In the past two weeks, I’ve worked in some capacity for Laurier Athletics almost every day.
As a Communications Assistant, I watch live games for different varsity teams. I then upload analytic information, provide live updates during the game, post-game interviews with players and coaches and write post-game recaps and summaries. This role has given me good experience in professional writing, analytics and interviews, which definitely took some practice.
As a Digital Media Assistant, I mainly focus on giving live updates on socials. I shoot content at games and immediately upload it to WLU accounts on platforms like Instagram. This way, fans at home can follow the action. This role has been useful for using social media and digital media in a professional context. It has also given me exposure to things like working with a brand kit for socials.
As an In-Game Host, I do a lot of talking, announcing and fan engagement. At football games, I’m in front of a camera for games and live activations, and I put things up on the video board which is super cool to see! At smaller events or different locations like hockey games, there often isn’t video board content. So, it’s just the host, a microphone and the fans which is also very cool! In this role, I also get to work in fan fest at football games and be featured in social media content for the WLU athletics accounts.
The promotions team does all sorts of things for different teams, and the role changes from game to game. Some of the things the promo team is responsible for are live activations during games like little in-game activities, hosting booths, public promotions, game operation tasks, crowd engagement activities and lots more. Working in promotions has given me a whole new perspective on working in sports, which I’m so grateful for!
Interested in working for Laurier Athletics or somewhere else on campus? Stay updated on job availability through Navigator.wlu.ca!