Grad Assistantships 1-5

For someone who is looking for a higher education, they should really look into graduate assistanship programs. A graduate assistantship is a study grant of financial assistance to a graduate student that is offered in return for certain services in teaching or laboratory supervision as a teaching assistant, or for services in research as a research assistant. I found three of my graduate assistantships from the University of Florida with their athletic program. Your tuition is waived and you get a $10,000 stipend from August to May with health insurance offered. My other two assistantship were with Wayne State Uuniversity in Detroit, Michigan and Southern Illinois University. All of the assistanships waive their tuition and give you a stipend while going to school at their institute.

Canton YMCA Site Visit 9/14/10

Today we visited the Canton YMCA and toured the facility with Nicole Lawson. We all met in the "Reinhardt Room" to talk briefly about the programs at the Y and the different career opportunities they offer. Nicole was the membership manager at the facility and also worked with all the marketing of the business. The Canton YMCA is very family oriented and offers many programs for all ages. The different career paths at this site include event management, physical training, coaching, marketing, child care, instructor, and life guarding. This site has a huge soccer program for kids which offers jobs in helping organize the programs as well as coaching. There are so many different programs such as cycle class, yoga, aquatics, and sports that you are able to be a part of. There is a day care center where you take care of the parents' children while they workout. After Mrs. Lawson talked to us about the facility, she gave us a tour of the building. There was a hall of fame room where they hold board meetings and can elect anyone to be in the Cherokee Hall of Fame. She then showed us the Day Care Room where it was full of babies and kids with plenty of games and toys to entertain them. They had a full court baskettball court with a screen that comes down to separate it into two different courts. Above the the court there was a walking track around the gym. There was a Cycle Room where they hold cycle classes with a screen that the instructor can show a scene to make it look like they are riding with Lance Armstrong. This site had an Excerise Room where they hold different classes such as yoga. The workout gym has free weights and machines with t.v.'s above them. They call this the Cardio Theater. It also had an Indoor and Outdoor Pool located within the facililty with a life guard always on duty. The outdoor pool closes after the summer because most of the life guards are college students who have to go away to school. The newest room there is called the Teen Room with pool tables, couches, and t.v.'s to hang out in. The most significant things I learned were all the careers associated with any YMCA not just the one in Canton. I am actually thinking about doing my practicum at the Y near my house this summer.

Internships 1-5

All the internships I researched were through ncaa.org. It was a very helpful site because it was easy to navigate and there were a lot of job openings. The jobs I was interested in were an assistant softball coach at Purdue University, director of athletic ticket sales at the University of South Alabama, assistant softball coach at North Georgia College and State University, assistant athletic director at Kennsaw State, and assistant athletic director at St. Mary's College of California. I was interested in the assistant softball coach positions because I play softball and most of the requirements are college experience and a bachelor's degree which I both have. The athletic director positions interested me because you need a lot of leadership skills because you oversee all the athletics at the school and I have very good leadership skills. The ticket sales would also be a fun and different experience for me because I would be at various sporting events and organizing different duties and work schedules.

Guest Speaker: Vic Mitchell

Vic Mitchell of Shorter University came speak in our class today. He is the head women's basketball coach their as well as the senior associate athletic director at Shorter. Mitchell got both his undergrad and graduate degree at the University of Georgia and built a base for his resume by volunteering for the basketball program at UGA. He started as the basketball manager and continued to get involved at the school. If you want to go into coaching, you need to get involved in something at that school. As a head coach, he told the class that you need to know how to work with people. For the first 15 years at Shorter, Vic Mitchell had to coach two teams at a time including basketball, golf, softball, and cross country. He gave us a lot of advice when going into a job and how to prepare for it by researching their philosophy to become successful. I learned that many institutions are tuition driven and have to bring in a certain number of students to keep running and athletics is a great way to draw students. I also learned that if I am ever in a leadership position to not micro-manage and to hire good people so that I can trust them to do their job.

"Becoming Invaluable" Article

This slideshow is very helpful in making a sports studies graduate stand out and get the job they want. It makes you think about the path you want to take as soon as possible so that you can prepare for the real world. The slides have the things you should be doing and questions you should be asking yourself through each year of your college career. It makes sure you separate yourself from other students with the same degree. The grad assistantship program is an option you can take where you work to gain experience while completing your graduate degree and getting paid. This is an excellent option for those looking for a higher degree which will in itself help someone stand out when finding a job. This was a very constructive article because it teaches how to make a resume and things you should and should not put on it. The strategies it tells you about will help anyone find a good job right off the bat, not just in the sport industry.

Guest Speaker: Peggy Collins Feerehy

Mrs. Peggy Feerehy visited our class today and talked to us about the Career Services program here at Reinhardt University. She talked about the four career fairs here in Georgia this year. At the career fairs, you are expected to dress in business suits. Mrs. Collins then went on to explain the process of making a resume and what all that should include. Your resume should be in chronological order ending with the summary. She showed us the two different types of resumes, some of which include a cover sheet. The references are given separately from the resume as well as the portfolio. She mentioned that the portfolio is sometimes better to give the employer because it shows you in action and how you work. She prepared us for an interview by making sure we know what were selling and giving us real life interview questions. Feerehy is willing to help the students here at Reinhardt prepare for the real world and how to act and look professional. From her presentation, I learned how the business world works and what an interview is looking for because I have never been on one in my life.