Meet our new Athlete Engagement Intern, Jessie Smeding

Posted on: 06 April 2020 by Luke Jennings

In partnership with Loughborough University and Santander, the Switch the Play Foundation has a new Athlete Engagement Intern Jessie Smeding who starts this week.

Jessie got in contact with the Switch the Play Foundation through our trustee, Steve Mitchell at Loughborough University’s Talk Sport 2020 event. Having been a swimmer in the Netherlands, Jessie is currently studying for an MSc in Social Science Research in Sport and Exercise Science, specialising in Performance Lifestyle and exploring her research topic ‘Shining a Positive Light on Elite Athlete’s Retirement Transition’.

Jessie will be playing an integral part in driving our engagement with sportspeople, both in our masterclasses and through our Switched On network. She will be developing our strategy and creating material that sportspeople have stated they want to support them in their development of a life outside of sport. Importantly, in the coming weeks, Jessie will be the first point of contact for sportspeople seeking support with personal and professional development.

This internship was made possible through the Loughborough Talent Match programme. This University programme, which is partially funded by Santander, gives students an opportunity to develop their employability. For a charity like us, it gives us a fresh perspective and a talented individual who is passionate to help us develop our services further to help us thrive. This will be hugely beneficial given the circumstances we find ourselves in due to Covid-19. Furthermore, this will be the first time that the Loughborough Talent Match programme have offered a remote working internship and we are excited to work with Jessie virtually and demonstrate a new way of conducting an internship. 

Welcome to the team Jessie!