Ella Ireri
- Course
- Sport Management BSc
- Subject area
- Sport Sciences
The modules and facilities at Loughborough are amazing but the academic and career support were definitely the most useful for me.
Part of the support available was the Future Black Talent Mentorship Programme, where I was matched with a Loughborough alum who works in the sports industry. Through this programme, I was able to gain valuable advice and guidance which has contributed to where I am now.
I also found the support of the placement team invaluable, both when looking for opportunities and when on placement.
My placement year was at Wasserman, one of the biggest sports and entertainment agencies. My role was in the brand and properties division, where I gained first-hand knowledge of experiential events, sports partnerships, creative, strategy, research and insights.
This experience helped me gain an in-depth understanding of the setup of the sports industry, as well as all the different roles that are available and what they entailed.
I came away from the placement with a better understanding of what areas I did and didn’t enjoy. I also met and worked with some great people and from this was able to secure a full-time job right out of university.
I now work at a sports and entertainment company called Oak View Group, the largest sports and entertainment venue developers in the world. I work as a commercial and brand strategy executive working across our owned and operated venues and third-party brand and rightsholder clients. No one day is the same (which I love); my work typically includes market research and insights, development of commercial and sponsorship sales strategies, partnership management, and partnership sales across the sports and entertainment landscape.
I’d say being able to secure my first full-time job while still in university was a major achievement for me, but the one that means more to me is founding and launching ‘Bridged’.
This is a platform aimed at closing the gap between young aspiring individuals from diverse backgrounds and the Sports and Entertainment industries.
We want to show young people that Sports and Entertainment are viable industries with vast career options for them by providing them with the insights, networks, resources, and tools they need to better understand the industries and kickstart their careers.
The take-up has been great! In just 6 months we have built a following of over 5000 across all our social channels and website and have helped individuals secure internships, placements, and full-time roles across the industries.
As an international student from Kenya, settling into the UK was challenging in the first few days especially in a town like Loughborough, which is extremely different from Nairobi, where I am from.
But one thing that automatically made it easier was freshers’ week. During those 2 weeks, between all the activities and nights out, I was able to meet some amazing people who made settling in a lot easier and am still friends with to this day.
One of my favourite highlights from Loughborough was the different sports teams I was part of. In my 1st and 2nd years, I played several sports for my accommodation halls including football, basketball, and athletics which was a lot of fun.
Also in my 2nd year, the lacrosse team were forming a team of beginners to play in BUCS. My friend and I went for the beginners’ classes and then try-outs and got selected. So playing and representing the University in a sporting capacity was definitely a highlight.
My advice to prospective students is to gain as much industry work experience as possible; and at Loughborough, the opportunities in sports are endless.
This will provide you a competitive advantage when applying for full-time roles, as many entry-level positions need candidates to have some prior experience.
Also, getting experience will help you get a better understanding of what specific job roles entail and will help you figure out what you enjoy doing and do not like.