My Experience as the Sports Information Peer Helper

Written by Kennedy Harvey; Photography of Raven’s field by Lawrence Misheal.

Applying to be Carleton’s Sports Information Peer Helper has easily been the best decision of my university career thus far. This term, I had the opportunity to work alongside the Carleton Ravens Varsity Football team, documenting their 2016 season. As someone who has worked with the team over the past couple of years, this season was without question one of the most emotional ones yet.

From highs, such as the historic Week 2 win against the Western Mustangs, the Panda Game win in front of an incredible 23,329 fans, or hosting the first home playoff game since 1986, to a devastating season ending game against Western in the Yates semi-final, and sad goodbyes for players who took the field as a Raven for their last time, I was there for it all. I have never encountered a team with more heart, sense of unity, or passion, both on and off the field. The group, which has grown over these past four years, is not only a team, but a family.

Working with a group who has been so closely and directly connected for that amount of time, I felt as though I would be imposing in some way, but rather, they welcomed me with open arms and appreciated what I was doing. As a reporter, sometimes you feel that your work goes unnoticed, but in this position, I knew my weekly previews and recaps were relevant and appreciated.

Having a position with the Peer Helper Program and Carleton Athletics allowed me to build strong relationships from the very beginning, and helped me continue to grow those relationships over the past ten weeks.

Not only did I build relationships that will last a long time, but I immediately noticed a change in my writing. Being a journalism student, I am always looking for opportunities to improve my writing. This position gave me the chance to expand in my target field and offered a lot of advice for me as an aspiring journalist. The difference between my football season preview (the first article I wrote as the Peer Helper) to the football season recap (my most recent article) is beyond belief.

It was my pleasure to share the football teams’ continued success this season through my writing, and I look forward to sustain my experience as a Peer Helper next term while I follow the Varsity Basketball Teams here at Carleton University.