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A career in action sports: Shape Academy Camp Fire
Project Manager Magda shows how it’s possible
25.04.2019

Turning your favorite hobby into a profession is something that seems quite appealing to many winter sports enthusiasts. Whether it’s the ambition to become a professional athlete or just the wish to spend the everyday professional life outdoors – many people are dreaming about dedicating their lives to their passion. Magda Rozniecka is Project Manager at Fellhorn and proofs that it’s possible to combine work and hobby and to gain a professional foothold in the winter sports business. Find out which challenges come alongside with this job, which requirements are needed on her side and why she has never regretted her decision.

A career in the Shape Academy

For Magda it’s the second season in the Shape Academy. She started as a shaper and within her first season, she gained more experience as a Multimedia Shaper. One season later, she took over her first leadership position as a Project Manager at Fellhorn. The possibility to rise professionally and the chance to have more responsibility were decisive for Magda’s motivation to apply for this job. “I felt that I can handle it – that I can do it and I got the chance to do it.” But that’s still not enough for Magda, because she knows that “…there are more steps to take and I know that it’s completely possible if I do my job well.”

Magda thinks the reasons why people work for the Shape Academy vary. “Some of us really aim for big parks, they want to work in bigger and bigger projects build even bigger kickers and then just jump them!” With over 120 facilities in five different countries – including some of the top snowparks in the Alps – the Shape Academy offers interesting options for passionate freestyle enthusiasts. But besides the sportive ambitions, Magda knows another motive: “You also have the chance to climb up the corporate ladder, to develop personally and to aim for higher positions with more responsibility.” Magda is sure that “if you take this job seriously, you can really make something out of it!

Key-qualifications and leadership-skills

When I heard that I was going to work as a Project Manager, I was very happy, but at the same time, I was very excited. After all, this job comes along with a lot of responsibility and requires specific technical know-how. Besides that, you have to be able to manage the people you work with.” Since then, responsibility, self-organization and leaderships-skills are key-qualifications that Magda must proof every single day.

To keep up with the high standards of the snowparks and fun-facilities, the Shape Academy offers a huge variety of trainings and programs to properly prepare their employees for their jobs. “I knew that – at the beginning – I could not know everything and that I might have a lack of experience. So, I was very happy when I heard that the Shape Academy invited us to a training to Obergurgl. I was convinced that we would improve our knowledge and gain more know-how and even confidence for this job,” tells Magda and stresses the serious-business-side of her job.

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Between summer and winter season

But there’s also another reason why Magda chose to work for the Shape Academy. As Magda is working in a Kite school during the summer month, a seasonal winter job was the perfect opportunity for her. “Having a summer and winter job that fits together perfectly is super convenient for me,” Magda states. “My summer job takes most of the year, but I also have a few months left and the job at the Shape Academy fills up those months. But it’s not just to fill up a gap, I treat this job as seriously as my other job, the one that I have in summer,” describes Magda.

After all, Magda has never regretted her decision to work for the Shape Academy. “On the one hand, we must maintain the facility, we have to satisfy the client – the ski resort – and we have to make sure that everything looks perfect for the guests and riders. But on the other hand, we – the shapers – are the ones who are enjoying our self-made playground who benefit from the Funslopes and Snowparks. So, you can basically combine work and fun, job and hobby!”

Here we would like to show you a Vimeo video.

Spending the winter with a crew of like-minded people, enjoying the sun and the mountains and at the same time focusing on a career in winter sports – Magda proofs, that this can come true, if you are ambitious and willing to fulfill your dreams.

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