New Kid at Sport in Society

I originally stumbled upon SIS after a professor of mine suggested I check out the organization. After doing some research, I noticed that their mission aligns with my professional goals very well. I obtained my BS from North Carolina State University in Sport Management with a Coaching Education Minor and I am currently pursuing my MS in Nonprofit Management with a Spot & Social Change Concentration here at Northeastern. My short term professional goal is to become a sports programming director at a YMCA, Boys and Girls Club or similar organization. My long term goal is to eventually become an executive director or CEO of such an organization. An opportunity with SIS will not only allow me to network, but it will equip me with more knowledge and hands on experiences in my field.
I came into this experience not really knowing what to expect with a very vague idea of what it is Sport in Society actually does. The first day as an intern consisted of getting to know my fellow interns, co-ops and staff here at SIS. We went over the mission & goals, history, accomplishments, etc. of the organization and I started to realize the magnitude of SIS, but I still wasn’t fully grasping the concept.
I spent my first few days observing the day to day operations of the office. Not really knowing my purpose as an SIS intern made me feel essentially useless, browsing the web as everyone else was busy at work. It wasn’t until my initial meeting with our senior staff to go over my goals and ideas that I started to formulate a sense of what I will be doing over the next few months at SIS.
The other interns and I will be working on a project focused on sport based youth development (SBYD). We will be formulating curriculum for sport based youth development organizations that focuses not only on sport, but developing a well-rounded individual as well. We are still in the beginning stages and in the process of ironing out all of the details, but I am excited to finally make a contribution and keep learning from this experience.
October is going to be a busy month here at SIS. Not only are we busy at work on our new project, but there are seminars, trainings and various events that SIS plays a role in. What I am looking forward to most is the MVP Fall Institute. MVP stands for Mentors in Violence Prevention. Since starting my internship, I often hear the senior staff, tenured interns and coops referencing something they learned from the MVP training in everyday conversations. Clearly something that remains this prominent in daily discussions is something worth checking out. I don’t really know what to expect from the trainings, but I look forward to participating not only for the experience, but to know what everyone is talking about when they bring up MVP.
I am getting more comfortable with the culture and roles at SIS and I look forward to continuing to learn and soak up as much information as possible. My goal is to not only learn from my internship, but to also leave a lasting footprint on the organization, hopefully our SBYD curriculum will do just that.