Ellice Clement has a double major in tourism management and marketing and landed her dream job in January, working as administrative coordinator for the Kamloops Sports Council.
Clement is enjoying her new role, becoming more involved in the community, working with different boards and non-profits organizations. She will be instrumental to the 2018 Kamloops, BC, Winter Games, happening February 22-25 of next year, and is excited to sink her teeth into something so big, with so much pull provincially.
Clement worked at the Kamloops Golf and Country Club for the past five years. She started as a co-op student, while completing her degree at TRU; but ended up staying on, building on her skills in customer relations management at the pro shop. Because of the size of the club and her background, Clement was able to do a little of everything, wearing many different hats and exploring her interests.
When she applied for her current job, she knew it would be a great match as she has learned that she loves organization and is a real people person. Therefore, an admin coordinator position fit perfectly. A lot of the skills she sharpened while in the golf industry have translated to her current role. She loves the type of work she is doing, it’s fun, challenging and everyone wants to be there. She’s also excited to see events from start to finish—from conception to post-event meetings where plans to improve subsequent events are made.
“Seeing these events that I’ve attended like Rib Fest, now from behind-the-scenes, is interesting and exciting,” said Clement. “So much work goes into these, it’s amazing what the community of Kamloops does.”
Currently one of her day-to-day duties includes sifting through applications for KidsSport—financial assistance for youth who want to get involved in sports activities but need some support first. “I get to call the families and tell them they have been approved. Parents and their little ones are just over the moon—it’s a great feeling.”
Work life balance has always been important to Clement. She chose a program and career focused on tourism and marketing as she saw this would give her flexibility and freedom to continue to travel in either the shoulder seasons and/or for work.
Prior to TRU, Clement had attended Capilano University, taking courses in an arts and entertainment management program, and the College of New Caledonia for two semesters, enrolled in a marketing management diploma program.
“I was really pleased to find out that TRU accepted most of the credits I earned at those institutions. It made completing my degree a lot easier,” she said.
Clement explained that the assignments in tourism and marketing at TRU weren’t in the traditional style of memorizing material and reciting it back. Instead, class work was usually centered around applying what was learned. They would explore projects for hypothetical companies or develop something from scratch for a specific tourism sector.
“We were always encouraged to be as creative as possible. The more original the better.”
Tourism Management faculty member Kellee Caton was influential to Clement during her studies. “She had a different approach to classes, she’d turn all the tables together, have us sit in a big group circle and have real adult conversations with us about the social side of tourism. She really helped to facilitate learning, showed us great communication examples and inspired us—I would never miss her class.”
She says that the style of learning at TRU prepared her for real life because at times they were working with actual companies, or developing real business plans. It was always evolving, and topics covered always seemed to correlate with real current events or how the industry was changing at the time.
“I knew I wasn’t learning something written years ago but instead learning about the industry now. That was so engaging for us as students.”
