When I thought about my next co-op term, I had no doubt in my mind that it would be occurring at Gryphon Football. My first co-op work term at Gryphon Football was incredible and I knew I needed to come back to work for this fantastic program.
To be honest, being a co-op student is hard. When I initially signed up for co-op back in high school, I knew it would be difficult, but I didn’t think I would be constantly focused on this aspect of my degree. During my study term, I’m a full-time student with 5 courses and applying for co-op jobs at the same time. The rest of the time, I’m working full-time. The brilliant thing about Gryphon Football, is that it really doesn’t feel like work.
It was once said, “choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” There are hard days and long hours, but I can honestly say, my job at Gryphon Football really doesn’t feel like work. It feels like I get to tinker with neat stuff all day and get paid for it.
My main duties include: marketing our program, running the gryphonfootball.com website and writing the monthly newsletter. In general, I help the Football program advance in any way I can. This involves thinking about the program’s past, present and future. One of the projects I embarked on recently was the Football Alumnus program. During my first co-op work term with Gryphon Football, I organized and catalogued all of our alumni dating back to the 1930s. One of my goals for the future is to contact as many alumni as I can during my co-op work term. The purpose is to investigate if they would like to be involved with the Gryphon Football program again. I’ve talked to so many alumni who feel very glad that they have continued to support our program, therefore, I would love to reach out to as many people as I can. We have amazing things occurring in our program every day that I hope to share. Another part of this project is looking back at our Guelph Football history. There are an abundance of almanacs about the University of Guelph that include everything from the Homecoming festivities in 1968 to the building of Alumni Stadium. My goal is to begin the process of cataloguing, organizing and digitizing our history so it can be easily accessible to everyone.
Projects like these make me enthusiastic about working at Gryphon Football. At this program, I get incredible freedom at my position. If I have an idea like cataloguing the history of Gryphon Football, I am given the go ahead. This is one of many reasons I have found my position at this program personally rewarding.
Furthermore, I have also found this position professionally rewarding. I’ve gotten so much experience that I don’t believe I would have gotten at a different organization. At Gryphon Football, I am treated like a professional with valuable ideas and opinions. When starting at an entry-level job as young person, that can often be a hard thing to find. Overall, it’s a fantastic work atmosphere. Everyone is kind, friendly and willing to help. The Gryphon Football players are some of the nicest people I know, and every coach and support staff are so welcoming. Moreover, I am able to make numerous professional connections through this job. I have met so many like-minded, passionate people through working at Gryphon Football.
From my personal to professional development, I can genuinely say that working for Gryphon Football has changed my life and I look forward to my future with this program.