Lauren Hollands
27 October 2014: University of Canberra student Stephanie Burnham has kicked some goals with the Brumbies off the field by boosting their social media presence as part of an internship for her degree.
Ms Burnham, who is in her final year of a Bachelor of Sports Media, has been entrusted with the team's social media accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter.
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UC student Stephanie Burnham has helped lift the Brumbies' social media profile. Photo: Michelle McAulay |
Since starting her internship with the super rugby team in February 2012, she has managed to boost the team's official Facebook likes by 500 per cent to just over 65,000.
Being able to land an internship with an elite rugby union team has been a "dream come true" for the aspiring sports media manager, enabling her to combine her passion for the sport and her interest in sports media.
"I moved to Canberra to study sports media at the University of Canberra and now believe that I need as much experience behind me to stand out when transitioning into the workforce, this internship is great exposure and experience for me," Ms Burnham said.
"I chose to intern with the Brumbies as I have always had a passion for rugby union and because the Brumbies have a strong reputation. I hold the team in high respect," she added.
She praises the University's sports media course for providing her with the integral writing skills needed to perform her tasks during the internship.
"One of the main areas my degree has helped me with is how to structure articles, specifically match reports and features. I have also learnt about other aspects of media, such as cameras and sound, which have given me a bigger picture of the media industry as a whole and how it can be applied to a particular sport."
After one season working with the team, Ms Burnham chose to stay on for a second season "as the management team created a friendly and welcoming environment in which I felt comfortable and wanted to be part of it," she said.
Brumbies media and communications manager, Elliot Woods, describes Ms Burnham as a major asset to their media team, contributing to their ambitious goals in the last few months.
Mr Woods, who is a University of Canberra graduate himself, foresees her future in the industry as "potentially very successful".
"I have absolutely no doubt that Steph will not only find a full-time job when she finishes, but will go on to have a long successful sports media career, if that's what she wants," he said.
"Steph has indicated that she would like to pursue a job in media management with a major sporting side and I would hope that it might start with the Brumbies."
