Career Center News
The Building Blocks of Transitioning From Student Athlete to Full-Time Employee
January 30, 2023
By Madelynn Lutenski (GVSU Career Center Intern)
Balancing school work, extracurriculars, internships, and a college varsity sport is no easy feat. Shifting from a life of nonstop movement to a postgraduate job takes some adjusting.
Grand Valley Alumna Nicole Taormina graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science with a minor in Marketing. Throughout her undergraduate career, Taormina was a diver on the GVSU Swim and Dive Team. After falling in love with the campus and choosing to attend Grand Valley, Nicole reflected on advice she had received.
“If you go to college to play a sport and couldn't play the sport anymore, would you still love the college that you go to?” said Taormina.
As an On-Site Specialist for Stryker, Taormina connected a lot of the skills she had gained from diving to her current role. To maintain a busy workload in college, time management was the key to Taormina’s success. Managing her time, schedule, and priorities easily transferred to her clinical surgical support position.
Being in a competitive environment, Nicole’s teammates inspired her to work harder to reach her mental and physical goals and reinforced team player values. Unlike the support system that a varsity sport offers, post-grad life provides students with a new world of independence and flexibility.
“Once you graduate, you have a lot of freedom. You’re really only obligated to go to work. No one’s there to force me to go to the weight room and scream ‘Let’s Go Nicole!’ in my ear,” said Taormina. “I still think it’s important to build good habits while in college and continue them even after you graduate.”
Taormina was also a part of the 50% of Grand Valley students that have changed their major at least once, which led her in the direction of the GVSU Career Center.
“I had no idea what I wanted to do when I graduated. I kept thinking ‘what am I going to do?’ and of course parents and other family members asked that question too. The Career Center led me in the right direction and connected me with a contact at Stryker. They helped me come up with a plan, edit my resume, and also do mock interviews,” said Taormina.
These resources helped Taormina land two summer internships, assisting her process of narrowing down her career path. Her first internship was with Powerstrength Training Systems. As an intern at the gym in East Grand Rapids, she learned a lot about strength training and conditioning.
Combining her passions for exercise science and marketing, Health Plan Advocate was her second internship employer. In this role, she was able to support the organization's mission of supporting corporate wellness through social media, client outreach, and email marketing.
“From these internships, I learned that I’m definitely a people person and I knew that I wanted to work with people in-person,” said Taormina.
Adopting sportsmanship qualities from Grand Valley’s Swim and Dive Team, gaining valuable internship experience, and receiving guidance from the GVSU Career Center were the fundamental building blocks of Taormina’s career journey.
Students searching for internships, jobs, and career navigation can make an appointment with Career Advisors on Handshake. Additional career resources are accessible on www.gvsu.edu/careers.