Sri Lankan, SiGo representing the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOC SL) graduated from Dream Together Master (DTM)-Global Sport Management with the Best Thesis Award last December. He worked as a lecturer in Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Jaffna and then was appointed as a Provisional National Course Director at the NOC SL. He was a national champion in hurdles, an international student peace ambassador for the unification of Korea in 2018, and one of the panelists of the Dream Together Seoul Forum – 2018. Last month, he was selected for an internship opportunity at the World Taekwondo (WT) Headquarters in Seoul.
Interviewing for the DTM newsletter, he said, “This is what I was dreaming during the DTM. Getting to work for an international federation is never easy. I am excited about such an established organization immediately after graduation. I will forever be grateful to the DTM for giving me another incredible opening. I take this internship as a stepping stone to achieve the ultimate goal of working at the International Olympic Committee. At the WT, I am assigned to the Member Relations and Development Department, where I am required to manage and research careers of the executive committee members as well as researching national and international sport federations, and supporting international business of WT. Currently, I am managing the database of 209 Member National Associations and updating the latest info by communicating with each of them.”
When he was asked about the most reminiscing collection at the WT during his internship, he said “My unforgettable memory so far at the WT is the very first day – 2nd of January. This was the first time I set foot in an international sport federation. It was a very exciting moment! This became a red-letter day. Secondly, I was quite fortunate to attend the office meeting and the dinner in the presence of the President and Secretary-General. I am fitting in well in the federation in a diverse environment of people from Korea, Nepal, USA, and Singapore. I have no doubt that working in a Korean environment will enhance my ability and skills to become a great administrator.”
“Sometimes other department staffs approach when they need any assistance from me. For instance, one of the staffs from the education department, who develops taekwondo coaches’ education program, asked me to review a proposal. I am always willing to assist them to the best of my knowledge which I learned during the DTM. During my internship, I was able to read the statues of the WT and learn more about an international sport organization too,” he added.
“As a person from a rural community in Sri Lanka, I never thought that DTM would have brought me to this level within one and a half years. I am sure there is no any program for Sport Management in the world like DTM which brings more than 30 professors from more than 20 universities around the world. Learning from world-class professors, special lecturers, plenty of field trips and many other interesting activities from Asia’s No.1 sport studies university is a golden opportunity. During the DTM journey, I really worked hard in many ways in and out of the class. I was even given some extra activities by the DTM. I took everything as a challenge and accomplished all with many success stories. I would like to advise to the current and future DTM students to use this wonderful opportunity to build up an international sports network, gain extensive knowledge in many areas from the experts from all over the world and to develop not only sports but also your communities through sports” SiGo said.
