Wednesday, March 24, 2010

The life of a paralympics intern, Spring 2010

Hello everyone, my name is Alexandra Smalls, but just call me Alex. I have been an intern at the United States Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, CO for two and a half months now. I work with the Paralympics department, particularly the Military division.

So far, I have worked hard managing the master spreadsheet of flight information for those traveling to the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games in Vancouver, BC Canada. In addition, I was able to go to Team Processing in Denver to hand out all of the Ralf Lauren and Nike apparel to the athletes and staff. That was really cool because I spent six weeks looking at everyone's name on the spreadsheet that it was nice to finally put a face with the name. The US did well at the Games, bringing home around 13 medals, including the sled hockey team who won gold!
Now that the games are over, I have shifted gears to focus more on the Warrior Games that will be hosted here at the OTC, Air Force Academy, and Memorial Park, May 10-15. This is really exciting because these are the inaugural Games and I have a hand in putting it together. The Warrior Games is where 200 total service men and women from each branch come together to compete in a seven multi-sport event. A lot of people are excited and want to get on board with this movement. I can't wait to see how everything will come together!

Time has flown so quickly so far and I have done lots of things I never thought to do or would have had the opportunity to do if I were still in Atlanta. In late January, I went to the Garden of the Gods. It was so beautiful there. You feel like you're as high as the mountains and on top of the world. I know my Dad would really enjoy that and plan to take him when he comes to visit in a week. In February, I went snowshoeing for the first time up in the mountains. Gorgeous site. I felt like I was in the middle of a Winter Wonderland. I don't think I've seen anything like it. That experience was really fun, tiring, but fun. A week later, I went to Seattle to visit my sorority sister and her family. I have never been to the west coast. CO was the furthest west I had been until this trip. I figured if I've come this far, I might as well keep going west. I had a really great time. They took me all around the city and up the Space Needle. Seattle is really a beautiful place despite all the rain.

We also started our own Intern Olympic Games. So far we've competed in water polo, a 5K run, handball, shooting, sitting volleyball, and an ESPN March Madness bracket. Next week we play wheelchair basketball. These events have been fun but also challenging. Last week I attended a Nuggets game for OTC Night. I had a really great time experiencing another CO attraction.

So far, being in Colorado Springs has been an adventure. I've done a lot of activities thus far and expect to do more before my departure. Working with Paralympics has shown me a lot about the behind the scenes operations of events and has been a great tool to prepare me for my future =)

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Not every day...

Hello my name is Casey Fisher and I am an intern with the Emerging Sport Program with the Paralympics. From the moment I walked onto the campus in Colorado Springs, things have been beyond unbelievable. I have met people, shared stories, and seen things that I never thought I would. This is truly a very unique experience and everything that I have been lucky enough to be apart of will stay with me forever.

As the Emerging Sport Intern my main responsibilities include managing the database of potential athletes that have been identified at various sport camps around the country, and continually staying in contact with them as they pursue the dream of making one our elite teams. Also, I have had the privilege of working a military sports camp with injured Semper Fi vets who have returned from defending our freedoms.

I was fortunate enough to work with them the entire weekend and was able to share stories, dreams of competing, and created some new friends along the way. It's not every day that you can work with people you consider your heros, and these military vets are my heros. I can't thank the USOC and the service members enough for allowing me to be apart of that unique experience!

I was also apart of the Team Processing weekend one week ago for all our Paralympians. Meeting these elite athletes was a life changing experience and I am looking forward to following them as they begin competition! All of us interns are in a great position as these Olympic and Paralympic games are taking place while we are here and we get to see how the process unfolds.

Outside of just being at the USOC, the best part of this internship is the opportunities I have to network with coworkers. There is an enormous wealth of knowledge and experience here that it is impossible to not walk away with hundreds of contacts for my future career. I am currently taking masters classes and I will complete them in July with a degree in Sports Management/Administration. I am pursuing a career in sports and entertainment promotions and/or sponsorships.

I know it sounds like a broken record, but being here is a dream come true and I am incredibly lucky to have this opportunity. All the interns are great and we all understand how unique it is just to walk down the Olympic Path! I am looking forward to what the remainder of the internship brings and continually networking with the great minds on campus!