Teeing off her career with IMG

Teeing off her career with IMG

Sir Edmund Hillary golf scholar Hana-Rae Seifert could soon be working with some of the world's top sports stars. She's on her way to London to take up a nine-week internship with international sports management giant IMG which represents the likes of Lydia Ko and Novak Djokovic.

"The internship is the perfect opportunity to combine both my practical experience as an athlete and my theoretical knowledge learnt through my law and sports degree," says Hana-Rae. "It epitomises what the Hillary Scholarship at Waikato has allowed me to do in the past four years and I will be forever grateful for its flexibility and support."

It's been a five-month application process for Hana-Rae, including various written applications and gruelling Skype interviews at all hours of the morning.

"One morning I had to get up at 1.30am to do a 20 minute presentation on how IMG could acquire new golf clients," she says.

IMG is a global leader in sports management and runs some of the world's most recognised events, such as The Open Championship and Wimbledon, both of which Hana-Rae will be working at.

"There were thousands of applicants from all over the world and only one internship being offered in the golf clients division, so I feel extremely honoured to have been selected," she says.

The internship will run from mid-June until the end of August but Hana-Rae hopes the opportunities won't end there. "I feel like this is a step in the right direction for my future, I can definitely see myself following a career with IMG. Who knows, I might be Lydia Ko's manager before you know it!"

Hana-Rae attributes many of her successes to the support and flexibility offered by Waikato University's Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship Programme which has allowed her to follow both her passions for study and golf. "And of course I couldn't have done any of this without the love and support from my family," she says.

The former Head Girl of St Peter's School is currently in her sixth year studying Law and Sport and Leisure Studies.

Hana-Rae is in the New Zealand High Performance Squad for golf and a Waikato representative. Her recent golfing success includes an eight-week tournament campaign to the UK and Europe where she made the cut in all events.

ENDS

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