By Christine Ricci
On Wednesday, August 8, two college students participated in a job shadow experience at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Coraopolis, PA, that proved to be an amazing experience for the aspiring engineers. The job shadow was coordinated by Business and Education Connected, LLC, a career development organization in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
The day long job shadow provided the students with unique opportunities to gather information on a variety of career possibilities in sports design and engineering. The students previously met with executives at Business and Education Connected, LLC, to complete strengths and interest assessments and review complementing careers. Both students had inclinations towards sports and engineering. Dick’s Sporting Goods very generously supported the interests of these students by planning a day long job shadow where the students met with a variety of employees to learn about the design and development of sports products. The Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh headquarters were particularly impressive as the surroundings had everything to do with sports! The facility boasts outdoor walking paths, basketball and tennis courts, soccer fields, and many other features promoting a culture of health and wellness. The students observed and asked questions of various individual employees throughout the day. The questions had been prepared for in advance and allowed them to gather information about educational requirements, experience, compensation, expectations, and the work culture. This experience helped both students by connecting their work site experience to their course work bringing clarity and understanding to possible career pathways, related skills requirements, and various aspects of industry and post-secondary education options.
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Aafke Loney, President of Business and Education Connected, LLC, met with the students following the job shadow to review their experiences. One student who was particularly impressed with the in-house development of baseball equipment stated “The BE Connected job shadow opportunity at Dick’s Sporting Goods influenced me because it gave me the insight as to what I could be doing in 5 years and beyond!” Another student found the culture at Dick’s Sporting Goods to be one that encouraged innovation and creativity in the design of new products, particularly golf and baseball. “Being and seeing how the designers created all the golf equipment, as well as being with the designer who created the baseball equipment, was an incredible experience!” This student also noted that each of the designers took pride in the success of their own products as well as the success of their co-workers products. This experience impressed upon the student to keep up with his college coursework and to be open to different opportunities in the future.
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The generosity of Dick’s hosts were above and beyond what was expected from the job shadow as the students left with not only a great job shadow experience but also an armful of Dick’s innovative sporting goods!
For additional information please contact:
Aafke Loney | MBA, President, Business and Education Connected, LLC
(e) aloney@business-education-connected.com
(c) 412.496.2389
Christine Ricci | MBA, Executive Vice President, Business and Education Connected, LLC
(e) cricci@business-education-connected.com
(c) 412.303.9822
www.business-education-connected.com
