As part of an industry partnership, La Trobe students from in-demand and diverse disciplines – including finance, media and communications, history, law, and Computer Science and IT – join Carlton Football Club for 100-hour placements, contributing knowledge, skills and enthusiasm across multiple areas of the iconic organisation.
The club welcomes these adaptable individuals to the team, and the students assist with various projects including archiving and digital marketing. For the students, the placements provide invaluable real-world experience and professional development. It is an opportunity to translate and apply their academic knowledge to practical scenarios to support an organisation.
“Place your faith in the placement, it’s a win-win,” says Tony De Bolfo, a club journalist and historian who acted as supervisor to Bachelor of Arts (Linguistics) student, Sophie Iannuzzi.
During her placement, Sophie applied her background in library and information services to tasks such as organising, cataloguing, and preserving historical items contributed by the community. Her meticulous efforts ensured that valuable artefacts were properly stored and accessible for future reference.
“Sophie was a truly diligent, committed student who quietly and efficiently took on the role of bringing welcome order to the archive – an objective she achieved in a relatively brief period.
“She was also instrumental in identifying various players and officials featured in historic photographs within the club’s extensive digital archive, and captioning the images accordingly,” Tony says.
Tony’s testament to the "win-win" nature of La Trobe student placements highlights the shared benefits of such collaborations. Hosting a student not only supports the educational journey of future professionals but also breathes new life into the operational and cultural environment of the host organisation.
“My placement at Carlton really solidified my preference to work within an archive rather than front-facing libraries. Contrary to what most people would think about libraries, it isn’t all books. Most libraries are customer service-based or administrative - sorting books is actually a small part of the role,” says Sophie.
As Sophie reflects on how her experience at Carlton Football Club solidified her desired career pathway, similarly, Casey McGuire, a student of Bachelor of Media and Communications (Sports Media and Media Industries), garnered substantial insights from her own stint in a contrasting area of work at the club. She served as a Digital Content Lead, aligning her studies at La Trobe University to practical career outcomes.
"My placement perfectly linked to my course and majors at La Trobe University. I always knew that I didn’t want to only write or just film, so I sought a placement that suited my needs and connected to my studies.
“I wrote team selections, match reports, press conference reports, and feature articles for the VFLW program. On game days, I controlled social media, announcing game days with trending songs, posting concise captions, and filming player appearances, among other tasks."
Reflecting on the benefits of student placements at Carlton Football Club, Casey's supervisor, Rose Zarucky, Digital Content Coordinator, states that the program "allows staff more freedom to cover the VFLW programs whilst also working with the AFL with limited resources. It gives the student chances also to develop their skills while working in a professional environment."
Rose emphasises, "Casey was a great help, she was motivated and took her learning into her own hands – asking for opportunities and plenty of feedback so that she could better her skills for the future."
To learn more about Carlton Football Club’s journey with La Trobe Talent and explore the transformative potential of a student placement program for your own organisation, join the upcoming webinar event: Building a sustainable placement program.
Are you a member of industry, and interested in La Trobe’s student placement program?
Securing students for an industry placement is a simple process. We can assist you throughout – from the development of a placement description to promoting to students and signing an agreement.
To learn more, visit Engaging student talent or contact La Trobe Talent directly on latrobetalent@latrobe.edu.au
For general enquiries or more information, please contact industry.engagement@latrobe.edu.au
