Griff's Georgetown Operations Intern
Allison
Experience Information
Employer: Griff's Georgetown
Job Title: intern
Major: Sport Management
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
Griff's Georgetown is owned by the Grand Rapids Griffins. There are two sheets of ice for public and private use. Griff's Georgetown is home to Jenison High School, Hudsonville High School, Grandville High School, Grand Valley State University, and Grand Valley Amateur Hockey Association. There is public skate, drop-in hockey, stick and puck, and freestyle figure skating open to the public. Griff's Georgetown also has roller derby games, broom ball, and graduation parties at the facility.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
As an operations intern I had a variety of tasks. Some of the ice duties were zamming the ice, edging and chipping, figure eights, replace boards, make blade changes, and check the depth of the ice throughout the rink. A few operation duties not dealing with the ice were painting marks throughout the rink, compressor scada system training, use floor scrubbers, and know how to operate the refrigeration units.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
Teamwork and patience are very important in this industry. These are skills I had before, but improved tremendously at this job. When replacing boards or blades, I needed to have patience because it wasn't always going to be easy to replace a board on the ice. I also had to be pretty creative.
Favorite Part of the Experience
My favorite part of this internship was the connections I met throughout the staff and customers. A lot of teams play out of this rink, so I got to know a lot of the coaches and players. I always made sure every ice rental got all the equipment they wanted for their slot.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
This experience has given me confidence in the operational side of a sports team, especially hockey. I never would have thought that I could replace boards, understand a refrigeration unit, or do any of the mechanical work that I did. The tasks that I learned were extremely important that I will be able to use in my future. I wouldn't have gotten the position at University of Miami-Ohio if I didn't do this internship. I will be assistant coaching the women's team and working at Goggin Ice Center full time.