What started as a class group project has evolved into an amazing experiential learning opportunity for Clara Quinn, a second-year Business Administration student at Loyalist College. Clara is packing her suitcase and preparing to leave for Europe on April 24th with the U19 Canadian Women’s Floorball Team. As Social Media Coordinator, Clara will be covering the team’s progress at the Women’s World Floorball Championship (WFC) Games in Poland from April 30 to May 4.
This exciting adventure began when Clara and some of her peers helped to generate social media coverage for the WFC 2016 in Belleville. It had a positive impact, helping to build awareness of the championship and the sport of women’s floorball.
In February, Clara learned that the Canada Women’s U19 Team had an exhibition game against the Canada Women’s Team in Markham, the weekend of the International Men’s Floorball qualifier. Clara attended and covered the event with live Tweets and Facebook postings, including score updates and action photos. She even interviewed Martin Wolmhed, the Rules and Competition Committee Chairman for the International Floorball Federation (IFF). Her initiative did not go unnoticed. Impressed with her creativity and content, the team committee invited her to coordinate social media coverage for the World Championships in Poland, 2014, and Belleville, 2016.
“I’ve always wanted a career involving sports and now I’m at the forefront,” said Clara. “I never dreamed something like this would happen to me. They were impressed by the quality of my posts and tweets, and the creative ways I managed them.”
Clara will be traveling with the team, coaches, staff and members of the WFC Committee. The tournament will be held in three cities in Western Poland with matches primarily in Babimost. Canada has had a team for three years and hopes to place eighth in this year’s world championships. Clara’s goal is to use social media to engage the public and raise awareness of women’s floorball.
This will be Clara’s first flight – and her first trip outside North America. A graduate of East Northumberland Secondary School, she will graduate from Loyalist’s Business Administration program in June and plans to return for post-graduate studies in September.
“If you had told me two years ago that I would be doing something like this on an international scale, I never would have believed it,” she added. “Confidence is probably the most important thing that I have gained from my studies at Loyalist. To believe in myself and know that I am capable of doing this job is a huge accomplishment. The faculty in my program is responsible for this growth. This program was the perfect start for my post-secondary studies.”
Loyalist offers a two-year Ontario College Diploma in Business and a three-year Ontario College Advanced Diploma in Business Administration. Graduates of the two-year program pursue entry-level positions within the business, not-for-profit, and retail sectors as logistics and event coordinators, retail managers, production supervisors and shift supervisors. Graduates of the three-year program gain specialized skills that prepare them for careers in human resource administration, industrial relations, training and development, staff planning and job analysis, occupational health and safety, and logistics and operational management.
Behind every product and service we enjoy, there’s a business that relies on effective people, practices and leadership. Business skills are needed in every industry, from aviation to food to professional sports. A business education is an opportunity—where you take it is up to you.
For information about Loyalist’s Business programs contact: busi@loyalistc.on.ca or visit Come For a Visit to book a campus tour or experience the program as a student for a day.