A passion for sport and community has landed UQ sports management student Atsuyo Ueyama a “dream” job with the Australian Scholar-Athlete Games.
Ms Ueyama, from Osaka in Japan who is concentrating her study in the area of volunteer management in sport, is the volunteer coordinator for the Australian Scholar-Athlete Games to be held at UQ from January 23-29.
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.
“I am very excited about it; it has given 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.”
She said she 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.
Ms Ueyama is currently being considered for a position at the World Scholar-Athlete Games in the United States, to be held in June-July 2006.
After completing 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.
Media inquiries: Atsuyo Ueyama (3374 7518) or Sam Ferguson, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law (3365 6662).
