Madison Murdoch, a Richmond Institute graduate from the Albury/Wodonga campus, has been keeping busy since completing a Diploma of Sport/Diploma of Leadership and Management back in 2019.
She is using the skills she gained during the course to help advance her career in the sporting and teaching industry.
Madison is now an education officer at Richmond Institute, a Booking and Events Coordinator at Aligned Leisure and a NAB League Administration and Operations Coordinator with the Murray Bushrangers.
Madison attributes the placements she undertook with Richmond Institute in assisting with the roles she is in now and helping with her professional growth.
“I really enjoyed all my placements and believe each assisted in my confidence growth,”
Being placed in roles where I’m always talking to new people really improved my communication and pulled me out of my comfort zone.”
Madison credits that these placements gave her the skills to go on and work in a range of different roles within the Albury Wodonga region.
“These skills have aided my development in my coordinator roles as I am often communicating with schools, parents, and students and need to adapt my language and style for each,”
“I credit my current employment to my placement and networking” she said.
With a range of jobs under her belt right now, Madison enjoys the flexibility of working multiple disciplines, stating her strong work ethic has been able to assist her in gaining her myriad of roles.
“As I was able to display good work ethic within each role, I have then been employed by the AFL, Aligned Leisure, and Richmond Institute, and continue to develop my skills and grow within each role,”
“I really enjoy working across multiple roles. One day you’re setting up for a game and the next you’re teaching.”
Studying at the Albury Wodonga campus had many benefits for Madison.
Having the opportunity to study and do placements close to home meant she was able to fully commit to the course and network with connections in the area.
“Being able to study close to home reduced the financial strain, meaning I was able to spend more time on my studies and placements,”
“I also enjoyed meeting and connecting with industry in the area I grew up.”
As a result of her work with the Murray Bushrangers, Madison was able to highlight the placement opportunities that occasionally arise within the club and how they can be helpful for current students who are looking for placement with the Bushrangers.
“The main roles the Bushies advertise are in areas for Media and High Performance”.
This has allowed for multiple students to complete these placements.
“For the Media placement, students have assisted in writing up the weekly newsletter, which included contacting AFL players on their Bushies journey,”
“In the High-Performance placement, students have the opportunity to work closely with our High-Performance team, which involves collecting data from our athletes and using it to create individualised programs” she said.
Mick Wilson, Regional Talent Operations Lead for the Murray Bushrangers, highlighted that Madison has been a fantastic inclusion to the team.
“Her attention to detail, willingness to support and innovative approach to all tasks ensured an opportunity for her to join the Murray Bushrangers in a Football Operations role”.
The partnership between the two groups will ensure opportunities for future students in the regional area.
“The affiliation has multiple benefits. Students can develop learning outcomes and skills that are relevant to potential future vocations and job interests” said Mick.
“Having students support staff in these roles [high performance, medial support, junior coaching] enhances our programs deliverables”.
The Murray Bushrangers are grateful for the support from Richmond Institute and look forward to future students getting to develop relevant and lifelong vocational skills.
Speaking with Madison it is evident that she has an outstanding career ahead of her and that the placement opportunities provided by Richmond Institute are a crucial component of that.
This article was written by Laura, a current Diploma of Sport/Diploma of Leadership and Management (SIS50321/BSB50420) student studying in collaboration with Swinburne University of Technology and the Richmond Football Club.