Intramural Staff Testimonials 3/3

Welcome to the last segment of where we get to know some members of our team across departments of Events, Leagues, and Media!

 

Caroll Gao – Assistant Director of Events

Caroll-Gao

Picture of Caroll Gao, Assistant Director of Events at Intramurals

Why did you join Intramurals?

  • My older sister was part of the program for several years, and the way she talked about being part of Intramurals made it sound so exciting and so fun! My first year at UBC was fully online so once second year started, I really wanted to get involved and experience more of the UBC experience, and Intramurals seemed to embody that perfectly.

What made you decide you wanted to stay with Intramurals?

  • All the people are so wonderful and I love meeting new people so it’s hard not to come back, especially with the strong sense of community!

What has been your favourite part of being an Intramural staff?

  • Day of the Longboat for sure! It was my first time witnessing one UBC’s large events and it was amazing to see so many Intramurals staff out on the beach and so excited, even with the pouring rain and the 3AM wakeup calls.

What is it like to be in Events?

  • Events is so fun! Each crew is tight knit and it feels like a big family, especially when we’re all working on a big event such as Longboat! You get really close with everyone quite fast when you’re working on the big events since everyone’s working in the office for 5 hours at a time, a couple days a week. By the end of each event, everyone’s exhausted but there’s such an immense feeling of accomplishment.

Can you tell me about a challenge that you had to overcome within the program that ultimately helped you grow (personally or professionally)?

  • Joining Intramurals and having my first semester of in-person university was a lot to adjust to at first, especially since I joined in the Fall semester, so Day of the Longboat was just around the corner. It was a lot to have thrown at me all at once, but all the awesome directors and full-times gave very clear expectations and let me know that I could always ask for help if I had too much on my plate.

 

 

 

 

Hannah Wheeler – Director of Leagues

 

Hannah-Wheeler

Picture of Hannah Wheeler, Director of Leagues Volleyball

Why did you join Intramurals?

  • I joined Intramurals because of the impact participating in leagues and events had on me during my first year on campus. As I’m sure many people can relate, after moving to a new city, I didn’t know very many people and felt kind of lonely. I convinced a few of the people I had met in my building to make a Day of the Longboat team with me, and long story short, they are now my closest friends 4 years later.

What made you decide you wanted to stay with Intramurals?

  • In my year as an Assistant Director I had some really inspiring people working alongside me as Directors and Full Times. Having them as role models was a big part of why I wanted to try my hand as a Director myself. The staff were really supportive and helped me grow both professionally and as a person through mentorship and friendship.

What has been your favourite part of being an Intramural staff?

  • The community! The student office was my second home as both AD and Director. Rec couldn’t run without all the amazing students that join the program every year and I am so thankful to get to call those people my friends and family.

What is it like to be in Leagues?

  • One of my favourite things about the leagues sector is the long term relationship you get to have with your league. Whether it is the officials, participants or supervisors, it is really rewarding to see all the pieces come together and watch the league get into its groove for the semester. Looking back at how some things that were so challenging at the start of the season have become second nature to the staff is really cool!

Can you tell me about a challenge that you had to overcome within the program that ultimately helped you grow (personally or professionally)?

  • Not being afraid of what you don’t know. A lot of being an IM staff is jumping in and taking on challenges that you may never have seen before, which can be really intimidating and kind of stressful to be honest. But with the support of fellow staff members to lean on, I have gained so much confidence in my ability to solve problems and work on the fly when necessary to achieve some really incredible things.

 

Mikey Posada – Director of Digital Marketing

 

Mikey-Posada

Picture of Mikey Posada, Director of Digital Marketing

 

 

Why did you join Intramurals?

  • Originally I joined Intramural because I thought it’d be a great opportunity for personal and career growth. As a Kinesiology and masters in management student, I knew that getting an opportunity to lead a team in an area that Im passionate about is not an easy opportunity to come by. I was also intrigued by the culture of the organization and how passionate everyone is about the community that is built each year.

What made you decide you wanted to stay with Intramurals?

  • I have had so much fun working in Digital Marketing, creating content, capturing the participant and staff experience alike. The overwhelming majority of the time, this role doesn’t feel like “work” to me. I love the people I work with, and the rush of energy I’ve gotten from being a part of large-scale events such as Day of the Longboat and Storm the Wall. I would absolutely love to be involved in this program as long as I can!

What has been your favourite part of being an Intramural staff?

  • Certainly getting to meet and connect with all of the amazing individuals in the program. Despite intramurals having to navigate through the consistently fluctuating provincial health orders, getting a chance to spend time and have fun with my colleagues has been extremely rewarding. While hard work is done, and challenges are dealt with every day; getting to do so along side your peers makes it all worth every minute.

What is it like to be in Digital Marketing?

  • I love all areas of the program and working in the digital marketing department, allows me to interact with and be involved in all areas of the program freely! As a director in this team, I act as the project manager for all sorts of creative promotional content that will be published on our social media and website. Every week looks different, and within our team we have tons of creative freedom, which is extremely fun and exciting.