Batten Honors College senior Cara Caruso and alumnus Logan Woolcock can attest to the importance of forming interpersonal and professional relationships and the lessons learned beyond the classrooms of Virginia Wesleyan University.
Caruso has taken advantage of the opportunities afforded to her and created opportunities of her own. She majors in Business with a concentration in International Business and a minor in Biology.
Around campus, Caruso is recognizable as a member of the Virginia Wesleyan Women’s Volleyball team and the founder of the beach volleyball club, which she began two years ago. One might also see her in the Lighthouse where she works as an International Student Assistant and soon, she will be collaborating with the Marlins Go Green club as a part of her honors senior capstone project.
As her concentration might suggest, Caruso has shown interest in education beyond Virginia Beach. With her credits and dedication, she could have graduated a year early, but instead chose to study abroad in Brazil.
“It was like the best roller coaster I’ve ever been on in my whole life,” Caruso said. While abroad, she was able to make her experience work for her goals and earn necessary credits for her major.
Despite the fact that she no longer needed an internship for graduation, Caruso stumbled upon a position with the Norfolk Admirals–the area’s professional men’s ice hockey team that has played at mid and pro levels through the years according to their website–on LinkedIn.
Although it appeared the position might have been filled, she decided to connect with the team and network. Caruso was offered the position and was interviewed by a familiar face, Batten Honors College alumnus Logan Woolcock. Now, Caruso works off-campus as a Game Day Operations Intern for the team as well.
With four other interns, Caruso works behind the scenes at the Norfolk Scope Arena throughout the week, but especially when the team plays home games. She is on site for office hours during the week and assists in sales and merchandising, networking and fundraising, as well as accompanying the mascot and generally ensuring everyone has what they need.
Although the position is unpaid, Caruso is enjoying the experience and preaches the mantra that has helped her in her undergraduate career thus far: “Take as many opportunities as you can when you’re a student.”
Woolcock studied Business with a special interest in Economics during his time as a student. He has always been sports-inclined, participating in intramurals at VWU. Now, as a working graduate, he’s found a way to marry his childhood appreciation for the hockey industry with his career.
During his senior year, Woolcock participated in an internship with the Norfolk Admirals, assisting with Game Day Operations. Once the season was over, Woolcock was brought on as a full-time staff immediately upon graduation in May 2023.
Woolcock formed significant relationships with students and professors at VWU and accumulated valuable life lessons from Accounting and Strategic Management courses.
“I don’t particularly feel as though my degree contributed to my current position at all,” Woolcock said. This post-baccalaureate realization can be coupled with the U.S. Bureau of the Census’ report in 2010, which found that only 27.3 percent of college graduates felt they were working in a job that related specifically to their major.
Woolcock’s career pursuits outside the classroom helped him earn the position of Sales & Operations Coordinator for the Norfolk Admirals. In preparation for the team’s games, he spends a considerable amount of time coordinating group experiences, season packages or premium hospitality reservations for clients.
“It takes a bit more time than you think to coordinate with some of our larger clients and fulfill specific needs or requests,” Woolcock said. The hours of his new job can definitely take their toll as he often works weekends, coming in on Saturday mornings during the season.
However, during the games, Woolcock works in conjunction with the director of Entertainment to oversee the entire show and is responsible for the audience’s experience, executing in-game fan entertainment outside the hockey game.
“I feel unbelievably grateful to be in the position that I am,” Woolcock said. “This is a huge turnaround year for the team, and we’re in a playoff position for the first time in about 10 years.”
Woolcock is especially grateful for the sense of community that fills the arena. “The feeling of being a part of the organization as they do things they haven’t done for a decade is exhilarating,” he said. “When I look around during a game and I see the Scope Arena filled up with fans who love this team, and I know that I have a part in the show that they are all here to see, it fills me with a sense of pride that is honestly tough to put into words. I have the unique opportunity to generate smiles and create memories for people when I’m at work, and the blessing of that position is not lost on me.”
Career development can stem from unexpected sources, such as alumni passing the internship baton or a travel experience opening a student’s eyes to new interests. Regardless, the personal stories above illustrate how college is a place to form connections and pursue all avenues as much as it is a place of academic achievement.
By Sasha Saxon
ansaxon@vwu.edu
