Dickinson College Student Athletes Discuss How Athletic Skills Help Career Development

Photo of Tara Fischer and Olivia Termini during a discussion in the Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium

Tara Vasold Fischer '02 and Olivia Termini '19 lead a discussion during the event.

Sports Skills Build Career Competency

by Maureen Moroz ’19

Dozens of student-athletes from the college’s 12 varsity women’s sports teams gathered recently to discuss how skills from the field, track, court or pool are transferable to their future careers. The players huddled with a panel of career experts at “Female NCAA Athletes and Career Futures: Play, Prepare, emPower,” an event centered on how athletes could effectively communicate their sports-related strengths to potential employers.

Women’s soccer captain Olivia Termini ’19 organized the workshop. “I began to realize how marketable my student-athlete experience is for future employment,” said Termini. “Collegiate sports teach you to work well with teammates, focus on goals and strive to achieve them. These skills are directly transferrable to the workplace.”

Panelists included Assistant Provost and Director of Career Development Phil Jones, Dean of Academic Advising Tara Vasold Fischer ’02, Associate Provost and Executive Director of the Center for Advising, Internships & Lifelong Career Development Damon Yarnell and Associate Dean and Director of Alumni Career Development Annie Kondas.

“I was thrilled to have this opportunity to work on designing the programming from the ground up,” said Fischer, a former four-year student-athlete at Dickinson. “With the recent creation of the Center for Advising, Internships & Lifelong Career Development, this was the ideal event to get involved in.”

The workshop featured brainstorming and dialogue. Panelists detailed the common “situation, task, action, result (STAR)” technique used by interviewers to gather information about how candidates respond to challenges. Participants discussed how anecdotes about athletic achievement, like scoring a point in overtime, could serve as indicators of drive and determination in the face of adversity.

“The skills I’ve learned (as an athlete) and the dedication I’ve shown to my team and sport demonstrate my abilities and what I can contribute to an employer more than many other things I could list on a resume,” said Marie Laverdiere ’21, a field hockey player who attended the event.

The workshop was co-sponsored by the Center for Advising, Internships & Lifelong Career Development, Dickinson Athletics, the Women’s and Gender Resource Center, and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.

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Published December 21, 2018