When Grand Canyon University's Lionel Williams, Employer Relations director, wanted to organize a student visit to the Kansas City Royals facility in Surprise, Arizona, he immediately sought out Honors College Director Dr. Marette Hahn, who reached out to her husband, Justin Hahn, director of Minor League medical services for the Royals.
Before they knew it, 35 Honors College students were on their way to Surprise Stadium, spring training home of the Royals, and the organization's Development and Performance Center.
“The ultimate goal for all of our students is to land in their desired career and follow their purpose,” Williams said. “We wanted to not only give them an opportunity to hear information but to immerse them in the environment so they can picture themselves in it.”
The students, who were joined by GCU's Hahn and Williams, represented the College of Natural Sciences, College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, all with career goals of working in the sports medicine field after college.
They toured locker rooms, training rooms, weight rooms and saw some of the physical therapy equipment often used on athletes.
“Once I saw this opportunity with Honors College, it was very appealing because I want to go into athletics,” sports performance senior Jake Rintoul said. “It was nice to be able to not just visualize the facility but have the exact image of what that professional scene would look like and get a glimpse of my future.”
After the tour, students broke off into groups to meet with Royals professionals and learn about career options in athletic training, pre-physical therapy, strength and conditioning, sports management and behavioral health.
They spent nearly two hours hearing about the staff’s professional journeys and receiving advice on steps they should take to achieve similar career goals.
“It was helpful talking with them about it because they live that life, so we got to hear the true pros and cons,” psychology junior Alexis Barbee said. “Going into anything in sports, you expect a really intensive lifestyle. Going to the facility and seeing that is their home put things into perspective for a lot of us.”
Rintoul and other sports medicine professionals with the Royals emphasized to students the importance of building a rapport with athletes and customizing their programs accordingly when in those roles. They also stressed to continuously work on establishing connections with other professionals because of the unexpected opportunities that could come from knowing someone else in those career fields.
“It was cool to hear raw answers of what it’s really like, instead of just, ‘You will love it,’” said Barbee. “I have always known sports psychology was my calling, but getting to see what that is really like was an eye-opener and a reaffirming thing.”
Career Services often brings employers to campus; taking students off campus to tour a real, professional facility was the next step, Williams and Hahn said.
“The biggest thing is giving them a launching pad to build relationships in the industry,” Hahn said. “We wanted to give them the opportunity to make some of those initial connections and get a realistic picture of what this actually looks like so they can make informed decisions if this is something that is going to be a really good fit for them.”
GCU staff writer Izabela Fogarasi can be reached at [email protected]
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