Hockey Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia, Canada
This summer I had the opportunity to intern at Hockey Nova Scotia, a sports organization for all of the hockey in the Province (with the exception of private hockey). Hockey Nova Scotia is a non-profit organization and their mission statement is “To lead, develop, and promote positive hockey experiences.” My work focused mostly on data and statistical analysis, but I also spent time learning and working on marketing and promotion, legacy planning, and logistics and operations. Some of the many projects that I was able to collaborate on included logistics and operational support for the summer high performance camps (ordering clothing, booking facilities, creating schedules, creating rosters, etc.); on-ice assistance at the summer high performance camps (aiding with drills as well as an on the bench coach during games); legacy planning for growing the female game not only in Nova Scotia but all across Canada (Nova Scotia is hosting the 2020 IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championships); and many different data/statistical analysis projects.
This wasn’t my first time working with a non-profit organization, but it only further solidified previous generalized thoughts and feelings I have about the people, the work, and the mission of these types of organizations. Everyone who worked at Hockey Nova Scotia was extremely down to earth and always had the best intentions in mind when making every single decision—even down to the littlest ones such as choosing a font for a promotional ad. Many employees left their higher-paying corporate jobs for Hockey Nova Scotia because they felt as though their previous jobs weren’t fulfilling and wanted to give back—to make a change in people’s lives through sports. I am extremely thankful I had the opportunity to work within this organization because as a child growing up, I benefited personally from the work done by Hockey Nova Scotia. It was extremely eye-opening and fulfilling to see all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to make all the wonderful and positive hockey programs that they offer and govern. To have the opportunity to work with such amazing people and help them continue to create such amazing experiences for hockey players all across Nova Scotia was an amazing feeling and extremely rewarding.
One project in particular was a statistical analysis of data on female participation in sports, specifically hockey. The end goal of the project was to increase female participation in sports through hockey. With this project, fair play between males and females was the issue that was attempting to be corrected. It was evident through my statistical analysis that there was an extremely lower number or females participating in the sport and also the number was decreasing over the years. I then did some analysis and cross referenced the data that I had with Nova Scotia population data to see if there were any correlations or reasons to explain why this was a trend. This is a very important topic that is extremely prevalent in today’s society, especially after the women’s soccer championship as well as the folding of the female professional hockey league. There is a big movement surrounding equal pay for both male and female professional athletes. The work I was able to do focused more on the grassroots of this issue but still very important. Right down to participation.
I had such a diverse experience at Hockey Nova Scotia Hockey and I was able to learn things about many different career paths. I have a passion for numbers and math, so I really enjoyed the analytical aspect of my internship. I haven’t had the chance to take a stats class at Williams yet, only in high school, but next semester I am taking Stats 201 so I am really excited to continue to learn more about the statistical analysis side of math. This internship solidified my thoughts of continuing in a math related field post grad, as well as exposed me to other paths.
A big thank you to David Pesikoff ’90, my alumni sponsor, and the ’68 Center for Career Exploration who together made all this possible. I learned so many things and had experiences and opportunities that I will cherish and take with me throughout the rest of my educational career and post grad.
Megamenu Social