DSES Student Success!

Ella Merefield 

Location of Internship: University of Winnipeg

Supervisor: Professor Melanie Gregg

Project: Mental Imagery and Success in Sport’

• What inspired you to apply for the opportunity?

I am keen to travel as much as possible and love to have a hands-on experience with our subject. So, to have a chance to spend 3 months in Canada whilst completing sport-based research seemed like a no-brainer. I also had a few friends in the year above who completed the program last year and couldn’t recommend it enough, so I applied and hoped for the best.

• What do you hope to gain out of the experience?

I hope to return with a great amount of field-based research experience under my belt and countless amounts of memories from a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Working within the area of qualitative and sports psychology research will be new for me and one I cannot wait to begin. So having this experience to take into my dissertation and future research will be priceless. It will also be an incredible time to travel and explore a new place and see what other parts of the world have to offer.

• Any places you are planning to explore and or travel to see while you are in Canada?

I am based in Winnipeg for 3 months, which is very central and close to the USA border. I plan to take a trip to the mountains which are nearby and explore the beautiful natural sights of Canada. I also hope to fly to Vancouver or Montreal to experience bigger Canadian cities and really make the most of my experience. A trip to North Dakota may also be on the cards.

• What are your career goals?

Long-term, I want to become a performance coach in Formula One. This is obviously a very niche area and one that requires a lot of knowledge but also experiences, meaning trips like Canada can only help me on my journey. After I graduate, I plan to undertake a master’s in exercise physiology and gain a range of qualifications around strength and conditioning and physiotherapy, to assist me in becoming a performance coach in the world of motorsport, and potentially the world of rugby too.

• Any words of advice to other DSES students to pursue such opportunities? 

I encourage my fellow students to take any opportunity handed to you. Whilst it might seem scary or like a long-shot, you don’t know until you try. I would also say you should always try to push yourself to find new experiences and new memories to take with you.

Sophie Ewin

Location of Internship: University of Regina.

Supervisor: Dr Julia Totosy de Zepetnek

Project: Effects of a low-carbohydrate high-fat diet on cardiometabolic health in middle-aged endurance athletes

• What inspired you to apply for the opportunity?

I was inspired to apply for the opportunity after seeing what an amazing way it would be to combine gaining experience of the degree in a real life setting whilst travelling. I thought it would be great to experience an environment out of my comfort zone to develop myself personally alongside research skills for the rest of my degree and employability.

• What do you hope to gain out of the experience?

I hope to gain valuable insight into a clinical research setting to equip me for possible    employment after uni, or have an interest sparked in the nutrition research field which I may want to pursue further. I'm looking to learn from some experience professionals alongside making new friends and experiencing a new place.

• Any places you are planning to explore and or travel to see while you are in Canada?

I will be based at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan and keen to travel as much as I can at the weekends and for some time after the internship. I'm looking forward to visiting Banff National Park, Calgary and hope to get over to Vancouver too.

• What are your career goals?

To be honest not too sure at the moment, I have quite a broad range of interests within the sport science discipline, so trying to get a range of experience, predominately within the social sector, however I'm really exited to learn more about sports nutrition on this internship.

• Any words of advice to other DSES students to pursue such opportunities? 

Keep checking your emails! I saw the information for this internship in an email sent to the cohort over the summer, and I'm very grateful I took notice of it. Along with this nothing is out of reach, even if you are doubtful that your suited or equipped enough just give it a shot, there's not harm in trying.