The winter quarter of the IAL program seemed, to me, like a long one. Maybe it was the rainy and cloudy Seattle, or maybe it was the fact that we had two classes and my internship was not what I had anticipated, but none of that helped the equation.
The content of the class schedule was not necessarily my cup of tea, but I managed to be engaged, and do the work in a timely and reasonable fashion. Where I really struggled was with my internship. I contacted the track and field coaches at UW to see if I could be involved somehow with the track and field operations. Obviously they could use help, as most organizations can, especially when it's free. My task was to help game-day operations at the indoor track meets throughout the winter quarter. The only problem is that the experience I gained while there, isn't the kind of experience that will help me with further progress in my career. I want to make it clear that this has nothing to do with the track and field program in itself, it has more to do with my late start on setting myself up with an internship that would be more beneficial.
For the weeks leading up to each meet I was on the computer, verifying marks that athletes and coaches had entered into the meet database. With that, I was making a determination whether that particular athlete had earned his/her way into the fastest heats. This aids in speeding the heat up, and allowing the best athletes to compete against the other quality athletes. In addition, on meet day I was working the information table, selling merchandise, replacing lost or mistaken bib numbers, and generally organizing the volunteer student-athletes.
I am about to begin a new internship, which I'm positive will give me great experience and a host of connections in the world of college athletics. I am looking forward to both the spring quarter class and the internship.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Wintur Klas Reeflekshun
The two classes we had this quarter were challenging in content, as they dealt with subjects I am not terribly familiar with. The classes were Decision Making with Data and Information Technology. The work load was significant, however, seemed relevant to the desired outcome of the class.
For Decision Making with Data we learned how to research data required to make a decision in ICA and, with that information, come to a conclusion on some changes that could be made to improve the department. In my final project I attempted to show how special admission student-athletes perform as well, if not better, than some of the regular admit students. The decision to focus on this topic was in response to some recent conclusions by The Knight Commission and the Drake Group that contradicts my findings.
This project taught me that, although there is a lot of information in ICA, it may not all be easy to come by. I had to talk to several people in confidentiality, as well as create some "dummy" data to conclude my project. Had I chosen a topic with lots of data available, it may not have been as challenging (or as fun for that matter).
The second class we took was Information Technologies in ICA. We looked for beyond collegiate sports, but tried to always bring it back to how modern technologies are affecting collegiate sports, both positively and negatively. There were facebook discussion boards with a randomized grouping of classmates that would discuss each of the topics during a give week. These discussions often started with something from one of the lectures or required readings, but would move to experiences from our internships, or even further back. I enjoyed hearing my classmates discussion points, and outlook on certain experiences with technologies.
The final project for IMT525 was an individual project researching and analyzing three technologies in our current Dept. of ICA. I chose to target video technology, student-athlete academic monitoring, and mass communication of the marketing department. It gave me an opportunity to be in touch with several people on campus and get their take on these technologies. I learned that there are many ways to improve current technologies in an ICA. It also reminded me how important reaching out to fellow department members is.
I have to admit that I am proud of myself for making it through these two classes with my sanity intact. All of the most difficult classes, as described by the IAL leadership, have been the best ones for me in regards to working hard and learning. For this I have to give myself a small pat on the back and get excited for one more class!
For Decision Making with Data we learned how to research data required to make a decision in ICA and, with that information, come to a conclusion on some changes that could be made to improve the department. In my final project I attempted to show how special admission student-athletes perform as well, if not better, than some of the regular admit students. The decision to focus on this topic was in response to some recent conclusions by The Knight Commission and the Drake Group that contradicts my findings.
This project taught me that, although there is a lot of information in ICA, it may not all be easy to come by. I had to talk to several people in confidentiality, as well as create some "dummy" data to conclude my project. Had I chosen a topic with lots of data available, it may not have been as challenging (or as fun for that matter).
The second class we took was Information Technologies in ICA. We looked for beyond collegiate sports, but tried to always bring it back to how modern technologies are affecting collegiate sports, both positively and negatively. There were facebook discussion boards with a randomized grouping of classmates that would discuss each of the topics during a give week. These discussions often started with something from one of the lectures or required readings, but would move to experiences from our internships, or even further back. I enjoyed hearing my classmates discussion points, and outlook on certain experiences with technologies.
The final project for IMT525 was an individual project researching and analyzing three technologies in our current Dept. of ICA. I chose to target video technology, student-athlete academic monitoring, and mass communication of the marketing department. It gave me an opportunity to be in touch with several people on campus and get their take on these technologies. I learned that there are many ways to improve current technologies in an ICA. It also reminded me how important reaching out to fellow department members is.
I have to admit that I am proud of myself for making it through these two classes with my sanity intact. All of the most difficult classes, as described by the IAL leadership, have been the best ones for me in regards to working hard and learning. For this I have to give myself a small pat on the back and get excited for one more class!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Fasilitees Enhansmunt Proprosel Reeflekshun
The most recent project I completed for this autumn's EDLPS598 class was a facility enhancement proposal for Hec Edmundson Pavilion here at the University of Washington. It gave me a great opportunity to look closely at Hec Ed and try to figure out what it could use to make it a stronger facility. With that said, Hec Ed has had a major renovation in the last decade, so it is still considered one of the leaders in facilities around the country. I had to look hard and use my imagination to find a compelling and valuable upgrade.
After watching some games from "press row" on the mezzanine level, I realized that those seats aren't used in the best way possible. Not only do many of them have obstructed views due to poorly placed computer monitors, but it is also valuable space for important stakeholders in UW Athletics.
In putting the project together I had to visit the site several times and look at ways the space is currently being used, as well as finding ways to implement my ideas. It seemed that after designing the project in my head that I was going to need to rearrange some of the current seating assignments. This required me to look at other schools around the country ans see how they allotted their seating. Know that Hec Ed is a major basketball venue, I decided to look at Kentucky, UConn, and Duke to see that hey put their band section near the court, where UW puts them on the mezzanine. I felt the vibe and "home-court advantage" would be increased by putting the band closer, freeing up space for premium seating for donors and high-level administrators.
This project was constructive for me in that it provided the opportunity to be creative with an existing structure and see that improvements can be made, evenin the most newly renovated facilities. It's difficult to see a time in the future that this would be my job, but if I ever had input into this type of project I would certainly hearken back to this assignment.
After watching some games from "press row" on the mezzanine level, I realized that those seats aren't used in the best way possible. Not only do many of them have obstructed views due to poorly placed computer monitors, but it is also valuable space for important stakeholders in UW Athletics.
In putting the project together I had to visit the site several times and look at ways the space is currently being used, as well as finding ways to implement my ideas. It seemed that after designing the project in my head that I was going to need to rearrange some of the current seating assignments. This required me to look at other schools around the country ans see how they allotted their seating. Know that Hec Ed is a major basketball venue, I decided to look at Kentucky, UConn, and Duke to see that hey put their band section near the court, where UW puts them on the mezzanine. I felt the vibe and "home-court advantage" would be increased by putting the band closer, freeing up space for premium seating for donors and high-level administrators.
This project was constructive for me in that it provided the opportunity to be creative with an existing structure and see that improvements can be made, evenin the most newly renovated facilities. It's difficult to see a time in the future that this would be my job, but if I ever had input into this type of project I would certainly hearken back to this assignment.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
NCAA Bid Prajekt Reeflekshun
The NCAA Division II bid project as a great learning process in regards to communication, planning, and creativity. It also opened a window to how I handle different types of personalities in a group setting. The outcome of the project was in the realm of my expectations, and I realized a the lessons I am learning in my internship will valuable in the not-so-distant future.
We chose Austin, Texas as the site of our NCAA bid. Our group had six people and we divided the tasks up as evenly as possible. The communication that was required to take place in order to achieve a quality project was critical. Although we had four people living in Seattle, the communication was equal to those of the group members in Florida and Montana. However, we did a fine job and pulled it together with minimal work left to do once we arrived in Seattle this weekend.
The hypothetical planning was a great exercise for expressing ideas and putting them to work in a manner that was both realistic and functional. All members of our group had an area of expertise in which we felt most comfortable. For example, I have been working on participant manuals for events at UW, so I gravitated toward that task. Mindy is an extremely organized person, so she handled the overall organization and power point presentation, and so on for the rest of the group.
The creative element came into my portion of the project when I had to imagine the golf tournament and how things would be organized in a place I had never been. The Bluebonnet Hills Golf Course was hosting our event, with a fabricated event staff, room names, hole numbers, catering service, etc. Knowing how a golf tournament works, at the most basic level, helped my imagination fill in the blanks.
Our group had several different personalities ranging from hands-on (alpha) to laid-back. Several members of the group wanted to take on many tasks and may have been unwilling to give up some control, while others were late to the party and may have been slightly overwhelmed by the amount of initiative by the other members. I found myself being quite proactive until I found the pieces I was working on. At that point I took those pieces and secluded myself until I had it mostly complete. Then I brought them back and received feedback on them, made changes, and submitted them. Our group work was not evenly distributed in the end, but options were not always available for that kind of shared workload.
Moving forward I will feel more confident in taking the work myself and making it fit into a group project. Understanding my role and doing it properly was paramount in the completion of this project. I also learned that if someone is much more aggressive about taking on the bulk of a project, that I will either need to confront it, or let it be. Wavering int the middle of those two tactics only frustrates me and drags the group down.
We chose Austin, Texas as the site of our NCAA bid. Our group had six people and we divided the tasks up as evenly as possible. The communication that was required to take place in order to achieve a quality project was critical. Although we had four people living in Seattle, the communication was equal to those of the group members in Florida and Montana. However, we did a fine job and pulled it together with minimal work left to do once we arrived in Seattle this weekend.
The hypothetical planning was a great exercise for expressing ideas and putting them to work in a manner that was both realistic and functional. All members of our group had an area of expertise in which we felt most comfortable. For example, I have been working on participant manuals for events at UW, so I gravitated toward that task. Mindy is an extremely organized person, so she handled the overall organization and power point presentation, and so on for the rest of the group.
The creative element came into my portion of the project when I had to imagine the golf tournament and how things would be organized in a place I had never been. The Bluebonnet Hills Golf Course was hosting our event, with a fabricated event staff, room names, hole numbers, catering service, etc. Knowing how a golf tournament works, at the most basic level, helped my imagination fill in the blanks.
Our group had several different personalities ranging from hands-on (alpha) to laid-back. Several members of the group wanted to take on many tasks and may have been unwilling to give up some control, while others were late to the party and may have been slightly overwhelmed by the amount of initiative by the other members. I found myself being quite proactive until I found the pieces I was working on. At that point I took those pieces and secluded myself until I had it mostly complete. Then I brought them back and received feedback on them, made changes, and submitted them. Our group work was not evenly distributed in the end, but options were not always available for that kind of shared workload.
Moving forward I will feel more confident in taking the work myself and making it fit into a group project. Understanding my role and doing it properly was paramount in the completion of this project. I also learned that if someone is much more aggressive about taking on the bulk of a project, that I will either need to confront it, or let it be. Wavering int the middle of those two tactics only frustrates me and drags the group down.
Ottum Reeflekshun
My internship at the University of Washington has been going well so far this fall. My main focus was the PAC-10 Cross Country Championships on October 30th. For that event I wrote the participant’s manual for all visiting teams, and also placed many of the orders for equipment and personnel. I kept a running soft budget of the items and services purchased and recently have been compiling the hard costs. Volleyball game-day operations have also been on my list of responsibilities. I meet with and brief the ball girls an hour before the game and then make sure they understand their responsibilities throughout pre-game practices and the game. These tasks were much more directly related to the position of my employer, the assistant A.D. of sports operations.
As far as typical intern work I have done a lot of packet stuffing for volleyball ball girls, creating and laminating signs and making copies of course maps for PAC-10 XC Championships, and assisting in course setup for the Sundodger Cross Country Invitational and the PAC-10’s.
In thinking back to my summer classes and how they prepared me for the internship that I am now involved in, the most memorable piece has been networking. During the cross country championships administrative meeting I shook hands with the head track and field coach at Cal-Berkeley and told him I would be coming to town in January. He was interested to sit down and chat and gave me his card to be in touch when I arrive in California. In addition, I was working directly with the associate commissioner of the PAC-10 Conference and she also invited me to come talk when I arrive in California, as they are located close to Berkeley, in Walnut Creek. These will be two important contacts for getting my next internship off the ground in January.
Another aspect I took forward into my internship is making a good impression by working hard. I show up at the discussed times, I get the tasks done that are necessary for a given time frame, and I report any questions or concerns straight to my superior. I feel that I get the jobs done in a timely manner and apply myself at all the right moments, and thusly will earn myself a strong recommendation from Karen Baebler. In addition, I’m sure she will be a great mentor for me moving forward, specifically if I stay working in sports operations or events management.
As far as typical intern work I have done a lot of packet stuffing for volleyball ball girls, creating and laminating signs and making copies of course maps for PAC-10 XC Championships, and assisting in course setup for the Sundodger Cross Country Invitational and the PAC-10’s.
In thinking back to my summer classes and how they prepared me for the internship that I am now involved in, the most memorable piece has been networking. During the cross country championships administrative meeting I shook hands with the head track and field coach at Cal-Berkeley and told him I would be coming to town in January. He was interested to sit down and chat and gave me his card to be in touch when I arrive in California. In addition, I was working directly with the associate commissioner of the PAC-10 Conference and she also invited me to come talk when I arrive in California, as they are located close to Berkeley, in Walnut Creek. These will be two important contacts for getting my next internship off the ground in January.
Another aspect I took forward into my internship is making a good impression by working hard. I show up at the discussed times, I get the tasks done that are necessary for a given time frame, and I report any questions or concerns straight to my superior. I feel that I get the jobs done in a timely manner and apply myself at all the right moments, and thusly will earn myself a strong recommendation from Karen Baebler. In addition, I’m sure she will be a great mentor for me moving forward, specifically if I stay working in sports operations or events management.
Week 8 Sosheeologee
For this week the main project was a YAP (Youth Activities Project). It was extremely interesting to see how, even in a city of culturally aware as Seattle, that there are still children (specifically those of lower income families) that do have the opportunities to compete in youth activities. We looked into such sports as swimming, tennis, soccer, and basketball to see the differences in availability, cost-effectiveness, and practice times. This was an eye-opening exercise for many of us as we realized that socio-economic factors play a huge role in youth activities, specifically sports. We focused our efforts on swimming and found that not only is it extremely expensive to register your child for a swim program, but the “pay-in” wait-lists can upwards of 10 years. This is not economically wise for families to be paying year after year to have a child on a swim team that may or may not set them up for success in the future. Many families in lower socio-economic brackets are forced to enroll their children in school-sponsored sports, which do not get the same amount of funding, attention from collegiate scouts, or the coaching caliber as club activities.
On the final day of class we had a discussion with Bob Kustra, the president of Boise State University. He gave us an in-depth look at how the president of a major football university views the athletic department, and the chain of command in decisions made throughout a university. Mr. Kustra was very informative and interesting. I’m pretty sure every student in the IAL program is now interested in working at Boise State. There appears to be a lot of school pride, founded in athletics, even through to the president of the university, whom are normally more academically focused.
In going forward, I would like to be more active in community sports for kids and making them more accessible and affordable. I’m unaware of how I can affect that in my given career path, but I am pleased to be more knowledgeable about that issue. If I end up in a coaching position, it would be beneficial to recruit from the school system as well as the club system. I have found myself in quite a few conversations about this issue, and it’s really good to have that knowledge in my back pocket.
On the final day of class we had a discussion with Bob Kustra, the president of Boise State University. He gave us an in-depth look at how the president of a major football university views the athletic department, and the chain of command in decisions made throughout a university. Mr. Kustra was very informative and interesting. I’m pretty sure every student in the IAL program is now interested in working at Boise State. There appears to be a lot of school pride, founded in athletics, even through to the president of the university, whom are normally more academically focused.
In going forward, I would like to be more active in community sports for kids and making them more accessible and affordable. I’m unaware of how I can affect that in my given career path, but I am pleased to be more knowledgeable about that issue. If I end up in a coaching position, it would be beneficial to recruit from the school system as well as the club system. I have found myself in quite a few conversations about this issue, and it’s really good to have that knowledge in my back pocket.
Week 7 Huemon Reeshorses
This week was one of the more challenging weeks for me due to the instruction and leadership of the class itself. I thought the material was somewhat interesting as we talked about the diversity hiring, religion, homophobia, and student rights. Many people in the class have been patiently waiting to discuss these issues. However, I did not feel the instructors were open to class discussions and intellectual banter between differing beliefs, as we would see in our jobs one day. It seemed as if the instructors were ignoring that many people are going to work in the South, or other parts of the country that may be more conservative in their views of these issues. I felt as if we were being talked down to and treated as adolescents most of the week and I wish it had not been that way. The knowledge and experience were certainly there, but the sharing of ideas was missing.
We also worked on a contract assignment on the second day of class, which was very interesting to me. We had three head coach candidates for a job, all with different demands for pay and benefits, but also differing in experience and overall talent. Each coach (in groups of 4-5) was interviewed by the institution (also a group of 4-5) and then a decision was made as to who would be hired. I turned out that the financial portion of the hiring was much less important than other factors. The most expensive coach was hired, even though the one requesting the lowest salary also had the highest win percentage, but was from a Division II background. The needs of a particular institution are not always conducive to a particular coach, even if they seem like the obvious choice. This assignment seemed to cause a bit of a riff between some of the classmates, although my group was oblivious to the chatter from that day.
In taking this into my career it will be good to remember that hiring people has a lot of factors involved. Both the factors put forward by the applicant, but also the needs and desires of the institution itself. Looking back on week two when we investigated our moral compasses, and applying that to what we learned this week in our human resources class, I realize that holding on to our personal (and institutional) core values will be a factor in hiring the right candidate for the job.
We also worked on a contract assignment on the second day of class, which was very interesting to me. We had three head coach candidates for a job, all with different demands for pay and benefits, but also differing in experience and overall talent. Each coach (in groups of 4-5) was interviewed by the institution (also a group of 4-5) and then a decision was made as to who would be hired. I turned out that the financial portion of the hiring was much less important than other factors. The most expensive coach was hired, even though the one requesting the lowest salary also had the highest win percentage, but was from a Division II background. The needs of a particular institution are not always conducive to a particular coach, even if they seem like the obvious choice. This assignment seemed to cause a bit of a riff between some of the classmates, although my group was oblivious to the chatter from that day.
In taking this into my career it will be good to remember that hiring people has a lot of factors involved. Both the factors put forward by the applicant, but also the needs and desires of the institution itself. Looking back on week two when we investigated our moral compasses, and applying that to what we learned this week in our human resources class, I realize that holding on to our personal (and institutional) core values will be a factor in hiring the right candidate for the job.
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