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References:

References

Beier, M. E., Kim, M. H., Saterbak, A., Leautaud, V., Bishnoi, S., & Gilberto, J. M. (2018). The effect of authentic project‐based learning on attitudes and career aspirations in STEM. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 56(1), 3-23. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21465

Chen, S., Liu, H., & Chen, J. (2022). Student teachers’ interactional language: Changes and improvements through guided self-reflection during the internship period. Frontiers in Education, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.953888

Degner, M., Moser, S., & Lewalter, D. (2022). Digital media in institutional informal learning places: A systematic literature review. Computers and Education Open, 3, 100068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2021.100068

Lovin, D., & Bernardeau-Moreau, D. (2022). Stress among students and difficulty with time management: A study at the University of Galați in Romania. Social Sciences, 11(12), 538. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11120538

Winchester-Seeto, T., & Piggott, L. (2020). 'Workplace' or workforce: What are we preparing students for? Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 17(4), 137-143. https://doi.org/10.53761/1.17.4.11

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8. Your overall reflections on the internship and your studies

When I started this degree the world as in a state of standstill, with COVID-19 progressing and Australia in lockdown I spent the first half of my degree online learning from home, but that didn’t deter me from continuing, especially when I had found my place, in fact, I was excited because I was enjoying it thoroughly online which made me feel like when I was able to continue my degree in person, on campus among my classmates that this degree would only be more enjoyable, which it was. I was blessed to learn from our great lecturers who come from all different but relative fields of Sports Media and Business, I was able to delve into any topic and have a discussion with not only the lecturer but the class as well, which meant we all educated eachother, which is one of my favourite things about the Holmesglen Way.

All great things come to a close. My studies and time with AusCycling are no different. I have been surrounded by so much support and knowledge for the last 3 years during my degree, I have been able to meet so many people inside the industry thanks to our great lecturers and the guest speakers that were enlisted to speak to us about their field. Being able to be around like-minded people that share the same qualities and passions as myself really helped me grow, I didn’t think I’d ever find a place where I was accepted and helped to evolve into the person I wish to be, in the field I want to work in. It hasn’t always been smooth, but smooth seas never made a skilled sailor so for all the bumps and waves along the way, I am thankful. I am grateful to all the hours the lecturers gave up after class, on the weekend and during their free time to help myself, my classmates and this university grow, learn and get prepared for our future. I have continually been nurtured and my seeds watered all the way from Year 1 to even now, after my final day, which to me is no surprise because you never stop being a member of Holmesglen.

I have been afforded every benefit I could’ve wished for, I have been able to learn from giants in their fields, discuss sport with those who I grew up listening to on the TV or radio and work within a National Sporting Organisation in AusCycling who allowed me to complete my 228 hour internship.

As students, we were given access to professional-class equipment which helped us localise the teachings from our classwork into a real-world experience, some days this was displayed as we would shoot, host, edit and produce our own tv-show segments, podcasts and content. Being able to do this helped us relate and learn quicker, especially when it came to producing content, understanding the needs for different cameras, lens, positioning, light set-ups and backgrounds.

When I look back on my days studying here I will smile and I will never hesitate to recommend this institute to anyone who finds themselves asking “Should I go back and study”, because that was once me, and I have only grown in strides since being accepted into this degree and that’s all thanks to the team here at Holmesglen who consistently put me in position to chase my dreams.

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Artefact #7

What do you consider to be the intern’s major strengths?

Peter’s attitude and enthusiasm were infectious. His approach to the event and his role in it was a reminder to more experienced members of the team that we are privileged to be working in sport and to be paid for doing things that others do for fun.

What can the intern improve with respect to their work performance and output?

Be available, deliver quickly and accurately and then ask for more. Peter showed many of these attributes during Road Nationals, but not in the first part of his internship. I fully accept the reasons for these initial problems, but also know that many organisations would not be in a position to provide Peter with the time away that he needed. We were very happy to do so, but once he’s in paid work, flexibility will be reduced.

Do you have any other suggestions (additional training, courses etc.) to enhance the intern’s future employability prospects?

In terms of impressing prospective employers, volunteering in order to build a portfolio of the sort of work you want to do shows initiative and commitment. Peter wants to work in basketball, but gaining a breadth of experience in other sports and industries may be the best thing to get him there.

Are there other comments you’d like to make regarding the intern’s overall performance

Peter was a great asset and person to have at Road Nationals. We appreciate the opportunities provided by Homesglen to work with young, committed students aiming to transition to a working life.

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7. Reflection on your supervisor evaluations and how these align with your future career professional development requirements

Feedback has been defined as “knowledge of results” where an individual (e.g., teacher, parent, employer, or mentor) relays the degree to which the learner did something well and describes how to make improvements toward a particular standard or goal (Ellis and Loughland 2017; Hattie and Yates 2014; Sadler 1989). Feedback content may be qualitative or quantitative and provided in verbal, visual, or written formats (Luck et al. 2018).

Feedback in the case of my internship evaluations were most qualitative and quantitative and given in formats of written and verbal, as I was given the written feedback along with my scored position from 1-5 and 1-20 in evaluations 1 and 2.

My two evaluations pointed out important lessons which must keep in mind when moving into professional work.

I had to split my time into two phases during my internship due to health situations - was made aware that other organisations might not have been as supportive as AusCycling was towards me. This is a key point, one that I will remember, and although it was out of my power I shall still try my hardest regardless of outside issues such as family issues or health.

I have also made it a priority to always be contactable and ready for work, as in the past I had not been easily reachable.

The evaluations touched on my infectious enthusiasm and my work ethic which helped improve the breadth and depth of the coverage we were able to give to our fanbase and audience.

A key point was on the appreciation I gained in the pace required to provide effective marketing and content during a large-scale event like Road Nationals Championships, this has made me realise the integral point of being time efficient and having superb time management skills.

The evaluations highlighted the growing importance for me to keep saying yes to opportunities as well as using the powerful attributes of autonomy and initiative to continue to broaden my scope of work and continue chasing content. This encourages me for the future and my place in this field of work.

The direction given to me in these initial professional evaluations have provoked me to show myself I can do better and improve, even if I think I am doing enough, I can always do more. In order to get a paying job in this field and to complete the goals I aspire to I must show improvement even amongst my strongest areas, I mustn’t get content, I must stay level-headed and never allow myself to get too h high or too low, that way I have clear thinking in the work I am handling. To reach where I want to get to I must be better, I must self-critique and be honest in where I have to improve and make a plan in how I will do it.

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6. Career aspirations including goal setting

Moving on from this great internship - which has put me in good stead when comparing myself to others and my point of difference which will hopefully make me a great candidate for a job in the future, I will look to further my skills and continue to build on the network I have made already.

My first goal will be to continue learning Adobe

Secondly, to create a social media presence and post about sports - this will be named Trophy Sports and I will highlight and spread my passion onto my followers.

My overall goal is to become a reporter in sport, particularly basketball. I have a wealth of knowledge around this sport as well as a network which I can leverage to help find work, I will look to start my own podcast where I will interview guests, cut clips and hopefully continue some viral tendencies to help market myself and in the future receive a media pass to sports I wish to present to my viewers.

I will start with small goals, reach 1,000 followers - 2 videos a week, then build upon that.

I will make a content plan and work around what my audience want to see.

This will be a side task to help build my portfolio when it comes to job interviews, by presenting them with this I can showcase my investment, initiative and work ethic.

I will continue to learn with the idea of problem-based learning, which describes curricula designed around specific problems, usually instructor derived, that might or might not be similar to problems a professional might encounter in their jobs (Strobel & van Barneveld, 2009; Walker & Leary, 2009).

My goals are to have a paying job within this field by November, have over 5,000 followers on my Trophy Sports accounts by May next year (2024), work to acquire Media Passes for the NBA/NBL to help create better content, create content with individuals inside the sports I love.

All of these goals will be hit if I handle the areas of growth outlined above, I will have self-assessments throughout the time between my goals to highlight if I am truly working to meet my goals and keeping myself to the standard I desire that would meet a professional workplace.

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Artefact #5

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5. Achievements and milestones (both technically and professionally, during the internship and personally).

Reflection in, on, and about practice is essential to building, maintaining, and further developing the capacities of teachers to think and act professionally over the span of their careers. (Chen et al., 2022)

During my 228 hour internship I was blessed with being able to learn more skills and conquer some milestones.

Firstly, I was able to learn a new sport and the key figures in it. I didn’t pout or complain about not being able to work in a particular area because my mindset was that learning more just opens up more opportunities for me and my future, so I embraced it and took to teaching myself new and interesting things about the sport of cycling which quickly developed into a keen passion of mine.

Secondly, I was happy to be able to learn new programs and how to utilise them to improve my work functionality and even improve the pace of my output.

I believe that being able to be hands on, like AusCycling allowed meant that I was able to put all the teachings the my lecturers had graciously been able to give me over the years prior, into effect, during a real-world experience such as the Road National Championships.

At Road Nationals I was fortunately able to interview National champions after they came off the stage, which meant I put into action the teachings of Peter Rolfe and Sam Duncan, who helped instruct me on how to run interviews as well as make your interviewee’s feel comfortable, which was necessary since some of these athletes weren’t media trained and had also just finished hours and hours of performing at a peak level in the 35 degree heat. Following that, I was able to do camera work for an interview which would go onto AusCycling’s instagram page, which I felt nervous about since I do not have the most steady hands, but I took a deep breath and remembered the teachings of Davin Sgargetta, I managed great framing for the video and felt great when I saw the finished product.

Lastly, a milestone I was proud to accomplish was that the reel video which I produced and captioned took off online, with our 70,000 followers on instagram we had only been getting decent traction during the championship series, but the last video of Jay Vine winning the time-trial by one second and his celebration with his wife went viral, capturing over 250,000 views in 4 days. Overall I was able to get hands on which was the main point of the internship and whilst being in that environment I achieved the little goals I set myself, this kind of growth is why I would recommend AusCycling to any student that wishes to network and build on their skillset.

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4. Challenges you faced (the nature of the work, working hours, organisation, motivation, tabling of ideas).

I faced challenges outside of AusCycling, stress of health scares and the passing of a friend which made me step away for a period of time, Sillamy and Gavriliu (2009) describe stress as a physical and psychological state experienced by someone facing a real or potential threat. Recent studies show show a high level of stress among students during their university studies (Lovin & Bernardeau-Moreau, 2022).

Those extrinsic challenges were able to be passed thankfully, the more intrinsic challenges I faced were being able to understand the sport, which after doing my hours of research about different bikes, races and rules I felt comfortable with. I faced some challenges using new programs in the Adobe suite, I wasn’t as familiar with them as I am with social media so I had to learn via tutorials and videos to quickly create content and quicken my pace of work and output. Through hours of listening and rewatching videos I was able to begin to feel comfortable and use the programs without assistance, this meant I didn’t feel like a burden when asking too many questions, which resulted in feeling more comfortable overall within my internship position.

The working hours were not a problem as I come from a sales background so being able to actually sit on during a day of work was new to me but not uncomfortable in any sense. I felt like I needed to voice my opinion on certain ideas such as social media postings when I thought that the ideas being talked about needed something added to them, something that would draw the fan in more, have them excited to see our content and lastly, come back again to see what else we would be posting. This wasn’t comfortable but I was made to feel heard by my team and they listened and followed my ideas which even had a great response from our social media audience. The feeling I got from that was excitement, I was excited that the work I was doing was being received well and that the things I had learnt were able to be worked in a real-world setting. Overall, it was different but great, I felt like I learnt a lot more in an NSO and was able to embrace the challenges and feelings of being uncomfortable which steered me into putting the work first and having a higher level of attention to detail.

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Artefact for #3

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3. Becoming an effective team member and contributor: how did utilise the support of your supervisor/co-workers to help build your confidence and become more efficient as an intern (this may include feedback, training or other support/opportunities).

I had to use the help of my supervisors during my internship due to having to take time away because of family health reasons as well as having a dear friend pass away at age 25, but after the team supported me I was able to get back to being productive within the work I was doing. Without the support of AusCycling I may have had to re-complete my internship at another organisation, which would mean I wouldn’t have experience what a National Sporting Organisation is like and the bounds of which they work between.

One of the pieces of work I got to work on by myself was the research, interview and the production of an article on Margaret McLachlan, a female cyclist during the 1960’s and 1970’s who was banned after winning events due to the fact she was female, I interviewed her for over an hour, I was able to make her feel comfortable to pull on threads of information for her to be able to tell me stories about her training, the sexism she faced and the toll it took on her. I was very happy with how it went.

I was able to work autonomously when it came to building content which meant I could freely chase ideas I had which I thought may be able to help our socials, a prime example of this was during the 5-day Road Nationals Championship in Ballarat, where I was able to be in the right place to get content of the winners and their teams celebrating which when uploaded to our socials brought in thousands of views. By learning the layout of the event I was able to show initiative by communicating with teams, racers and families about where I’d be if they won and that I would shoot content for AC’s socials (as long as they didn’t mind). These videos I shot ended up getting over 30,000 views across our different pages. The further the event went on the more comfortable I got with producing content at a faster rate. I continued to use my energy and enthusiasm as a tool to connect with people and find worthy stories for our socials and thanks to the team, who allowed me freedom in creativity when posting to our base audience.

The team I worked with, Ryan, Kirily, Ed and Annie during the event enabled me to try new things, to reach outside my comfort zone. An instance of this was when Ryan asked me to interview two-time national champion Flss Wilson-Haffenden, I was nervous but assured there was no way for me to fail, I queried some questions to the team and practiced then after the stage ceremony was able to be in the media scrum with SBS and have a chance to interview one of Australia’s next top riders.

It has been an eye-opening journey, one that makes me excited for the road ahead which will have more opportunities to get better, to learn more and to polish my skills before finding a paying job in this field. AusCycling has given me the opportunity to build my port-folio up and become a sharper individual, not just in the space of cycling but overall in the sports media field.  

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Artefact for #2

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Artefact for #2

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2. Finding your feet in the internship: induction, and completing initial tasks (i.e. the first 40 hours discussion)

This internship made me think differently compared to how I would during an assessment or an assignment. It took myself a second to be comfortable in a new environment and I think that was noticeable by me asking to go to the bathroom or what time I was able to take my lunch, which ended with the team letting me know I can act on my own accord, which was nice. I gave myself the first assignment of learning different disciplines and events, following that I wanted to learn about the athletes I’d be reporting on. I continued to improve my knowledge of the sport and put myself in learning positions by communicating with my team about events and athletes. I was asked to handle the social media of NSW and NT for AusCycling, this required me to communicate with clubs in those states about what events were happening and where, I was also polishing videos, photo albums and results to these pages to help build our interactions and audience.

After that, I was asked to work on a video piece which would be unveiled at the World Championships, it was a great starting point which helped me drop the nerves I was feeling and get start into the work. I brought in my 4K camera and recorded some clips of the Aboriginal artwork in the office which the jersey’s are inspired by, then cut the clips and sent them to Ed in our media team who was able to make the video which has showcased to our fanbases as well as other countries. I thought this was a important experience in building my confidence, this is because it follows the idea laid out by Degner, Moser & Lewalter in their 2022 article named “Digital media in institutional informal learning places” which states: Outside of formal institutions such as schools or universities, learners can gain (learning) experience in a variety of ways through the authenticity of the location and objects presented that might not be possible in a more formal setting.

Being welcomed into AusCycling and given tasks such as the jersey unveiling video showed that the organisation has confidence in me and wishes to build upon my abilities, it also makes me work harder as I am in a NSO and not everyone gets the same opportunity as I have received.

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E-portfolio - Your preparedness prior to commencing your internship and how you assimilated into the organisation’s culture.

With news of the coming internships I started to prepare by consulting with my two cousins who have been apart of this degree and have both completed it. I went to them to discuss how the stages of the internship are, such as: interview process, the workload, the hours, the challenges faced and how to handle them.

My cousins were very helpful and quickly calmed any nerves I was feeling prior.

My interview process with AusCycling was simple and only a single interview held with Matt P and Jo.

We went over my skills and the work I have been doing in class such as the Chris Antsey interview and 1500 word write up. Jo & Matt were excited to hear about how I was able to work across the digital landscape and were eager for me to join them.

When I started my internship I was nervous, only because the sport was not something I was overly familiar with, but that just made me do my homework and come prepared, which is never a hassle.

I met the media team I would be working with and quickly got to now them by getting a coffee and discussing recent events and coverages they had helped with. The team were polite and eager to help me assimilate into the group. I was aware that there were things I could only learn by physically being in the work place as suggested by Leanne Piggott in the 2020 “Workplace’ or Workforce: What are we preparing students for?”, so I put myself in position to learn and get comfortable by introducing myself around the office and inquiring what each person’s role was within the organisation. By doing this I was able to meet people in teams of Product, Performance, IT, International Events and Media.

I felt comfortable doing this because of the effort done earlier by myself during different assessments and even my real-world experience of working in sales, where I often have to strike up conversation with strangers and quickly build chemistry.

My idea heading into the internship was to soak in all knowledge possible and to become an asset, not a burden.

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Entry 7

I have to admit at the start I was a little sceptic to the need of the class but it quickly grew on me as did the understanding of why it was necessary. I took to the classes well, I enjoyed the group we had, it was a smaller class due to the intensive unit earlier, but that allowed for more scenario role-playing and more questions to be asked during our guest speaking events. I think Sharyn highlighted some important facts about forming resumé and what to put where, what’s important to showcase, activation words and things like that. The guest speakers highlighted some important times as well, such as the interview and during the internship – having a good mindset, accepting all challenges, not saying no, enjoying the ride, enjoying the fact you’re getting better at the job and lastly, nerves are okay. There was more to it than originally thought, but that’s the beauty of the process. I enjoyed the role-playing during the interviewing process and the assessment as well, I thought that was one of the most useful assessments we had done during our entire 3 years. I think learning this subject will be something I carry with me for the entirety of my professional career, I will have experiences with all the areas which help you get a job, keep a job and manoeuvre through the professional world. I think this subject + the person I am bodes well for the future when it comes to integrating into professional workplaces and transitioning into my career.

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Entry 6

For most of the practice I was the interviewer so I would like to say 10/10 as an interviewer, but when it was my time to be questioned I was ready, I handle it pretty well and had what seemed like essays for answers for each question despite doing it freestyle without notes or pre-thoughts, which the table was surprised because they were stumbling for more than 30 seconds answering each question. I think it is because I just put myself in situations where I have to connect, learn, interact so doing that comes naturally to me, one thing in the practices though I was being funny and less serious than I would’ve been in the assessment, but that was more from a sense of confidence in myself and ability.

I interviewed for 15 minutes with Janet and Sharyn, honestly I wasn’t too nervous when going in because I am mature, I understood the assessment and had some ideas formed with where I would take my answers and stories I would tell, but from the start it was a good vibe, I poured some water for Sharyn and myself as I broke the ice with Janet and humanised myself a little more and made it feel like maybe I’m not like every other interviewee. I opened with my about me which I’ve formulated thru random encounters in uber’s with sport fans or SEN workers, my retail work experience but overall I relied on the my ability to connect and communicate, I did feel like I stalled on the second last question about “in this competitive industry what puts you over the edge”, but I thought I managed to spin it back around, besides that I think I need to work on my ahh’s and although I keep eye contact 90% of the time I do tend to run my eyes around the room when forming my answer, even if its for one second but I don’t like that I do break eye contact. I did ask a great question at the end about the work culture and how it’s been built. I did get a lil sweaty at the end, most likely because I had a V before had but I nailed the 4 things, I had my CV, dressed well, answered all and asked a great question.

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Entry 5

Culture, my favourite thing! How is it that some players in the NBA are called bad teammates or get called out for a lack of work ethic, Culture! Its just what happens, if you instil responsibility and accountability in your culture and team then everyone pulls their socks up and then iron sharpens iron. This is seen if you look at the Miami Heat Culture, founded by Pat Riley, former NBA head coach of legends like: Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pat Ewing, Shaq – He’s now the general manager for the Heat and one of his most frightening rules is the 8% body fat rule which all players must meet in order to play in the Miami Heat Jersey – a rule that gave all players a equal responsibility and forcing each of them to be accountable to themselves and the team in order to walk out in their team attire. I bring the Heat Culture up because many instances they have been underdogs or seemed as a low chance but have come thru all the fire to be one of the last standing.

Culture is important because it brings the team up as one, if one slacks and someone sees its okay it can spread like a virus. Like personal branding you must stay on top of it because culture is the one overarching that brings all levels of workers together. There should be a sense of comradery and passion around the workforce because they want to be tehre due to the culture. My role as an intern would be to bring an edge with my hard work and ability to take on challenges and perform. I would love to be a part of a culture that encourages its workers to think differently and not be afraid to take a risk or see where an idea goes because its often those places which the workers are most joyous, and the real work gets done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5El9n3_hZrc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwnX4mn9fQc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA35fc7BpSI

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GJMjS0fWxf0

^ Last one is a good one for a laugh.