Sports/Entertainment/Event Management (SEE) major, sophomore Brittany Ellingson, a non-traditional student and graduate of the Chicago School of Massage, parlayed a spot as a volunteer into a job with the US Paralympics para-cycling team and trips to Italy and England. For her hospitality program community service requirement, Ellingson opted to assist at a US Paralympics booth for the National Wheelchair Basketball competition in March 2009 at the Gold Crown Foundation in Lakewood, Colo. While there, she met the coach of the US para-cycling team and asked if they needed massage therapists. She sent him her résumé and was offered a chance to serve as a soigner (French for “caregiver”) at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. When an athlete on a hand cycle was injured, Ellingson took him to the hospital and served as liaison to the team. Her performance won her an invitation to the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) para-cycling world road championships in Bogogno, Italy, in September 2009, and Manchester, England, in November 2009. “These athletes train for months in adverse conditions, are very dedicated, are disabled and they win medals, beat personal bests in competition, break world records and become world champions. And I was there,” she says excitedly. “I’m not only fortunate, I’m more than grateful.” In November 2008, SEE major Jessica Alley sent an email inquiry to the World Cup Lacrosse website, to ask about volunteering. The response: World Cup would pay for everything but the flight. She jumped at the opportunity. The JWU junior spent two weeks in Prague, Czech Republic, assisting with event planning for the 10-day Women’s World Cup Lacrosse tournament. She helped with event set-up, take down and anything else that needed to be done. During the tournament, Alley was one of the key statisticians for the games. “For two weeks, I was able to see a new part of the world, tour Prague and meet many female athletes from many countries,” she says. It opened a door to future prospects. In February, Alley headed to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to work the Winter Olympic Games via Clean Event.