Peeriodical: Olympic Sized Persistence Pays Off
Tuesday, March 15th, 2011
If there’s someone who knows about the terrifying journey that is the work search, it is Marissa Nahanee. Marissa was a panellist at the Indigenous Peoples Career Stories event on March 3, 2011. Marissa has worked on many world class events, including the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Torch relay and visits by Princes Charles and Edward. This is quite an impressive resume for someone still in their twenties. But Marissa’s job did not just happen to her – she had to work for it.
When Marissa started her event planning classes, she told people that her goal was to work for the Olympics, and then manage her own company. Everyone told her she was crazy, especially because she wanted to coordinate First Nations events specifically.
After graduating, Marissa attended networking event after networking event, pitching her ideas and showing her passion to recruiters. Months later, she received a Facebook message from an employer asking if she would like to work for the Four Host Nations to plan Olympic events! Amazing! But let’s rewind. How did this happen? (more…)