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Entry 8

When reflecting upon my studies, I have undoubtably grown as an individual. My first year at Holmesglen I was quite reserved and certainly didn’t back myself when it came to getting involved in class discussions. But as the years went on, I found that becoming familiar with individuals in my class as well as the smaller class sizes in general, made it far easier to contribute and share ideas. 

I found that this course in general, really challenged my critical thinking, and was perhaps more hands on then I expected. This is due to group and solo activities in which we would complete during each class, allowing us to apply our knowledge to real life scenarios.

I have definitely experienced my fair share of ups and downs across the 3 years. One of the main things I struggled with was trying to pay off a house in which I built during my first year of studying. There were trimesters where I was required to attend uni 3 days a week, making it difficult to earn enough money to not only make repayments, but to be able to enjoy myself and live a life outside of uni and work. I managed to balance this by sacrificing classes here and there to secure an additional day of work.

When working away from uni I would often have to get up at 5:30 for a 6:30 start. This often negatively influenced my motivation levels towards studying and potentially the quality of my assignments as I’d often put them off and leave them until the last minute. I am though proud that I was able to push through and come out the other side without failing any assignments (yet). Overall, studying at Holmesglen has been a great experience in which has not only provided me with a range of knowledge and skills, but has helped me develop as a person.

When reflecting upon my 230 hours completed at Sports Community, I couldn’t be happier with the experience in general. Upon choosing my internship, I was lucky enough to have the choice of 3 organisations. The main thing that stood out to me with Sports Community was the broadness of the role, I therefore knew that choosing this organisation would push me out of my comfort zone and allow me to learn a range of different things. When looking back at the experience, it definitely  lived up to expectations as I was constantly developing new skills and being exposed to unfamiliar situations. This is something in which I reflect on with great pride and am extremely grateful for.

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Entry 7

When reflecting upon my 100 hour evaluation, I was quite happy with the feedback I received from Jason who answered to a range of statements in relation to the work I was undergoing. He suggested that my personality strengths such as being personable and a clear communicator will bode will in the role I was completing going forward. This gave me a lot of confidence in regards to my ability to be successful in this field moving forwards. Jason highlighted that I deal with people well, this is something in which I believe is one of my strengths and will look to utilise in the future.

Much like my 100 hour evaluation, my 200 hour evaluation was extremely helpful in highlighting my strengths and weaknesses from someone else's perspective. When comparing my second evaluation to the first, it is clear that as I grew in confidence, and gradually developed a understanding of the organisation, I was able to work more independantly. As stated in both evaluations, it is clear that I have plenty of room for growth. More specifically, developing my technical skills in relation to data analysis, as well as becoming more proficient in the use of programs such as Excel could help to make me more employable in the future. I also agree I need to back myself in from the get go. Backing myself and self belief is something in which I am also looking to continue to improve on as I navigate my way through the industry. I believe this will come naturally as I gain experience and confidence in the field.

Overall, both evaluations were extremely useful in being able to gain a greater understanding of my own strengths and weaknesses. I was able to utilise my first evaluation to grow and develop through the internship. Evaluations like these are invaluable and crucial for personal development. I will continue to reflect on these as I work my way through the industry.

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Entry 6

When looking forwards , I truly believe that this internship has provided me with a range of skills and experiences in which I can take forward with me into the future, and therefore make for a smoother transition into my professional career (Coco, 2000). It has opened my eyes up to what it would be like working a 9-5 job in the specific field. At the completion of the internship I was able to update both my resume and Linkdin with a range of relevant skills and experiences in which the last 230 have provided me with. In particular, running the cricket blast programs is something in which will help me stand out amongst the rest of my peers. 

In terms of my career ambitions, my goals at this present time are to continue in my role at Sports Community. I have enjoyed my time learning and developing my skills under the guidance of Jason and the team. They have made it clear that there is work available for me in a casual capacity, but whether or not this work is stable enough moving forward will depend on a range of factors. I will therefore continue working my other job to ensure a stable incoming moving forward, with the hope that the hours at Sports Community will increase into a more full time capacity. If this is not to be the case though, I do believe that my experiences throughout the course, and in particular throughout my internship have made me far more employable then I once was.

I look forward to my upcoming interview at the Holmesglen skills and job centre where I hope to continue to to build on my interview skills. This is something I believe I am already quite confident with, but have the potential to continue to grow and develop, in particular my STAR responses. I am also eager to learn of the best ways to express my newly developed skills and experiences both on my resume as well as through interviewing. This is something in which will play a crucial role in making me stand out from others.

Coco, M. (2000). Internships: A try before you buy arrangement. Advanced management journal, 65(2).

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Entry 5

When reflecting on my internship and my role within the organisation, there were a number of milestones in which filled me with a sense of accomplishment across the 230 hours. Firstly, when looking at the Cricket Blast programs, this was a brand new program bought to schools all round Melbourne. Myself and Rhys were therefore the first individuals to run this program, with the outcome of these early rollouts pivotal to the success of the program moving forward. We both ensured that we came prepared for the the first few sessions, ensuring they ran as smoothly as possible. It was therefore a significant milestone for both of us to complete that first session successfully, providing us both with a lot of confidence moving forward.

As we slowly ticked off more and more sessions, there were many small milestones in which made running the program quite satisfying and fulfilling. These revolved around the students and not only there subtle improvements in terms of their cricket ability but their love for the game in which gradually grew throughout the weeks.

Another milestone was achieved once the VICSWIM booking portal was open to the public. So much planning and preparation goes into recruiting the required amount of life guards and teachers, as well as preparing and distributing equipment to sites around Victoria. It was therefore extremely exciting and nerve racking once the the booking portal was opened. This period was highlighted by hundreds of phone calls, with people enquiring about how to book their children into either of the 3 weeks. Once the phone lines first opened I had little to no idea as to how the portal actually worked, I therefore opted to simply learn on the go. It took until the end of the first day before I was fully confident in answering calls in relation to the booking portal and feeling as if though I was across everything. Upon reflection, this was therefore a major milestone in regards to my time at VICSWIM, as I finally felt fully comfortable and confident in the role that I was given.

The last clear milestone as part of the program was once the third and final week of classes came to an end. It was clear that towards the back end of the third week everyone was getting burnt out and frustrated due to the sheer number of calls that were coming through on a daily basis. People who were their every day throughout the 3 weeks were working long and strenuous hours, and I could tell that the program had taken it’s toll. It was therefore a major relief once the VICSWIM program finally came to an end on the third week of January.

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Entry 4

When looking back over my internship, there is no doubt I was faced with a range of challenges. Coming from working outside doing garden maintenance and landscaping, it took me a while to adapt to the admin style work and having to lock in and concentrate for multiple hours at a time. In terms of the specific admin work, it took me a while to get my head around the VICSWIM portal and the range of aspects which incorporate it. From booking in students, to adding classes, I was constantly learning the ins and outs of the system. Another aspect of VICSWIM in which proved difficult was the various swim teachers who would pull out from week to week due to sickness.

VICSWIM portal

One of the other key challenges I faced revolved around time management and being able to balance my own job, my studies, as well as my internship (Islam et al, 2021). This lead to my internship being drawn out over a longer period of time as I was only working with Sports Community twice a week. I also feel as if though my assignment grades took a slight dip over this period, with increased working hours making it difficult to put in the time and effort I desired. Once my studies came to an end for the year though, I found it far easier to simply juggle both work and placement.

Coming towards the back end of my internship, I began to slightly lack in motivation. This was most likely due to the repetitiveness of my task, with my main role being to attend to the phones in which would ring non stop for 8 hours a day. Most of these calls were in regards to class changes in relation to teachers pulling out, leading to a number of angry parents requesting refunds as well as range of other complaints. After a couple of days attending to the phones I noticed that I was becoming mentally fatigued and slightly drained due to the nature of the work I was completing. Another reason this task proved to be challenging was due to the limited hours I was working. I therefore found it hard to keep up with the constant changes in which were occurring around Victoria. These changes related to a number of different factors, from water quality at open water venues to teacher ilness.

Another challenge I faced was when running the cricket blast programs. As previously mentioned, this was a brand new program, meaning that participation levels were unknown. This sometimes made it difficult to plan sessions as we didn’t know whether there was going to be 5, or 35 students turn up. We were also constantly learning of ways to best accomodate students with varying ages and therefore skill levels.

Islam, R., Ali, M., Osmani, N. (2021). Time management for better job performance: An analysis from al-wasatiyyah perspective. Asian Academy of Management Journal, 26(1), 171.

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Entry 3

At the commencement of my internship I wanted to put my best foot forward and ensure that I lifted my weight. I therefore appreciated being given jobs in which made me feel a part of the team from the get go. For example, I was tasked with organising and recruiting life guards and teachers on my very first day. Although daunting, it made me feel like a valued part of the team and helped me build my confidence. When ringing potential teachers and lifeguards, I ensured that I had a voice message written out on a piece of paper. This was crucial to make sure I went into each call prepared and confident, as I wanted to speak clearly and concisely at every opportunity.

When trying to navigate my way through the first couple of weeks, I leant on both Bella and Jason to try and learn as many things as possible. I made an effort to constantly ask a number of questions in a bid to limit mistakes. Jason in particular was great at making me feel like a valued part of the team through involving me in meetings and introducing me to a number of contacts in which I can utilise throughout my career moving forward. Bella too, was extremely crucial for me in my early stages at sports community. She is such a calm and relaxed person who would back me in to do the role to the best of my ability. If I was too ever make a mistake she would be quick to brush it aside so I could move on without dwelling on it.

When running the cricket bast sessions, I would often communicate directly with the schools PE teacher to try and get them to assist in running these sessions. This made our jobs significantly easier as they often were able to work directly with students who often had learning or behavioural difficulties in which would otherwise make our job running the programs quite difficult as these children tended to have a negative impact on a number of other students (Ogundele,2018). Teachers would also often provide simple advice on how to engage specific children as well as tips and tricks in which they have learnt throughout their careers on how to break down specific skills in order to best teach the students of varying ages. Another way we utilised the schools and teachers was by gaining access to their equipment. This provided us with a range of new resources in which we could utilise in order to play games and get the most out of each session. Things such as hoola hoops and hackie sacks were frequently used to play fun and engaging games at the start of each session.

Ogundele, M. (2018). Behavioural and emotional disorders in childhood: A breif overview for paediatricians. World Journal of Clinical Pediatrics, 7(1), 9-26.

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Entry 2

The first 40 hours of my internship was undoubtably the toughest. On my first day I made my way out to the Aquatics and Recreation Victoria office. The office is located off Wellington Road in Clayton and only took me around 25 minutes to commute from my place in Officer.

Upon arrival, I met the whole ARV team, as well as the Sports Community team who were assisting in the organisation and running of the VICSWIM program. From there I sat down with founder of Sport Community Steve Pallas, who outlined what the next 230 hours was going to look like. We even spoke about the potential to continue working in a casual position following the internship, something in which filled me with a sense of excitement and motivation.

My first official task with sports community was a daunting one. I was asked to go through and cold call hundreds of lifeguards and teachers who had previously been apart of the VICSWIM program, or had showed interest in previous years. Most individuals didn’t answer, I therefore had to leave a lengthy voice message in which I wrote down on a piece of paper to ensure I got the message out clearly each time. I completed this task for the first 5 days, and slowly got use to being the only person talking in a dead quiet office, something in which made me uncomfortable for the first couple of days before I begun to grow in confidence. Once completing these calls, I completed a range of different admin tasks. All these task revolved around data collection and the use of excel, a platform that I wasn’t all that familiar with prior to starting my internship. Over time though, I became more accustomed with the ins and outs of the platform and was able to complete tasks much quicker. 

It was in the early stages of my internship I was joined by one of my fellow Holmesglen students Darcy. Darcy was employed by Sports Community and was working as a casual, with many of days on site matching up. Having Darcy there made my time with Sport Community far easier, as we were able to complete tasks together as well as communicate any issues or struggles we may be experiencing throughout our early stages at the organisation. We both often learnt different things at different times, this therefore made it quick and easy to learn things on the go as we would just lean on each other when in need. It also saved us from pestering Jason and Steve who often had a lot on their plate.

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Entry 1:

On reflection, it is clear that the start of my internship proved to be a shock to the system. Coming from working outdoors doing garden maintenance work, it took me a while to adapt to the administration work in which involved long hours sitting in an office. I do believe though, that I had a number of skills in which were transferable into this role, such as being personable and being able to communicate effectively. It did though, take a couple of weeks until I found my groove and was comfortable in the office environment. More specifically, the things I found difficult to adapt to was the fast paced environment in general, as well as having sit in the one spot and concentrate for hours on end.

When looking at VICSWIM and there workplace culture, the first thing I noticed when entering the  VICSWIM office on day one was the inclusive nature and positive vibes in which everyone portrayed. This type of culture is vitally important as it can be directly linked to employee motivation (McGregor & Doshi, 2015). For example, everyone was extremely welcoming and made me feel like a valued member of the team almost immediately. We would often have days whereby the organisation would put on a lunch or something similar. This is something in which I very much appreciated  and therefore made me want to put my head down and do the best job possible for my team.

 Being the only male for the first few weeks make made it sometimes difficult relate to topics of conversation in the office, but it wasn’t long before the dynamic changed and we had a fantastic mix of personalities in the office. I am naturally quite a sociable person but I can often be quite shy and reserved upon meeting people I am not familiar with. It therefore took me at least a couple of weeks before I felt settled and confident.

One of the main things I noticed when working at VICSWIM, was simply how hard everyone worked, and how focussed everyone was for long periods at a time. This was something in which I was keen to try emulate as best I could, in order to forge a positive reputation in my early weeks at the organisation. I therefore would often turn my phone off in an effort to not get distracted when completing long and monotonous tasks.

McGregor, L., & Doshi, N. (2015). How company culture shapes. Harvard Business Review. https://classdat.appstate.edu/COB/MGT/VillanPD/OB%20Fall%202021/Unit%203%20-%20Cohesion/Org%20Culture%20Articles/How%20Company%20Culture%20Shapes%20Employee%20Motivation.pdf