Leighton Geraghty – Contributor

“It takes an army to build a village.” When people sit at home scrolling through instagram or watching Gaiter athletics live on GaitersTV, they watch the final product of someone’s hard work. Bishop’s has taken its social media game to the next level as they look to compete with other schools in Usports. This evolution has best been seen through the bishopsgaiters Instagram page. What people do not know, however, is how much time, effort and hard work is needed in order to ensure that the page runs smoothly. This past year the school has offered numerous internship opportunities in the world of media. Head intern, Mel Toppa, has full control over creative content on the page as she is present at every game and works countless hours behind the scenes. Working under Mel are two other interns who are being shown the ropes to take over the account in future years. The team of three take care of everything that viewers will see while looking at promotional videos, in-game highlights and athletes of the week. 

Photo courtesy of Rene Zeevat

The new internships give students an opportunity to follow their dreams and strive to continue to promote their own personal brand as well. Bishop’s have been able to help set up the students with an opportunity that many other schools do not offer. Both being able to learn from their own peers and having a full range of creativity grants the students an unforgettable opportunity. People may wonder why social media is so important nowadays and how it impacts sports. Quite simply social media is the way everyone receives their information. Game times, days, scores, highlights and more are all seen on different social media platforms. In a world where laziness has started taking over, people no longer want to read a full blog on the game, therefore, Social Media Directors have to appeal to the viewers wants and needs. Short, catchy posts will have viewers coming back for more. As well, the better the page, the more fans will be prone to wanting to see more content and possibly come to the games in general. 

While sitting down with Mel, she made it clear how much the internship has helped her prepare for the working world. She stated that, “Running and managing the page has been a really validating experience. It’s given me hands-on insight into managing a team and seeing our ideas come to life, and it’s definitely shown me how these leadership skills are going to translate into the working world.” These skills that she has adopted will help her personal growth in the world of sports. Ultimately, behind every sports team, game and practice is a hard working social media team putting everything together to keep the fans engaged and happy.