Scholar-athlete to manage volunteers at World Games
A passion for sport and community has landed UQ sports management student Annie Ueyama a “dream” job with the World Scholar-Athlete Games.
Ms Ueyama, from Osaka in Japan, is concentrating her studies in the area of volunteer management in sport and was the volunteers coordinator for the Australian Scholar-Athlete Games held at UQ earlier in 2006.
The Scholar-Athlete games bring together scholars who are talented in sport and performing arts to compete and interact in the athletic arena as well as the classroom. Events include track and field, chess, swimming, art, dance and poetry.
Ms Ueyama is currently in the United States for the World Scholar-Athlete Games, working across the areas of international relations and recruitment as well as volunteer management.
“I am very excited about out being involved; my work with the Australian Games at UQ gave me a foot in the door in the industry,” Ms Ueyama said.
“I get to study what I love and I get to do what I love for work. You can't ask for more than that.”
Since arriving at UQ to study a Master of Business, Ms Ueyama has been an active volunteer in sporting events and was appointed as venue logistics officer for the Australian Uni Games.
As well as studying and working Ms Ueyama is an elite badminton player who has travelled to the Australian Nationals with the Queensland state team and competed as part of an Australian team at an international tournament in Japan.
A self-confessed lifelong competitive athlete, she quit her three-year job as a systems engineer with a leading multinational IT company in Japan to follow her true passion to Australia.
“I have been a competitive athlete all of my life and I thought that after college it wouldn't be part of my lifestyle anymore,” she said.
“But I understand now that it's important for me to stay active and connected with my community in the way which sport lets me.”
Annie chose to study in Australia “because of the reputation the country has for volunteer management”, highlighted by the successful 2000 Olympic Games, and the rich outdoor sporting culture.
Following the World Games in July, Ms Ueyama will return to Australia to complete her Master of Business (International Sport and Recreation Management). Ms Ueyama hopes to use her expertise in volunteer management to revolutionise the way sporting events are managed in Japan.