Sam Hawkins describes how involvement in trampolining and student leadership developed resilience, community-building, and practical examples for graduate recruitment
Sam Hawkins graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2026 and now serves as Head of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Their path from campus sport to a professional role illustrates how extracurricular activities can be a decisive element in early careers.
While at UoN, Sam combined roles as an athlete, coach, and competition judge within the Trampoline Club, and also engaged with the UoNSport Leadership Academy. In addition to on-campus duties, they supported physical education in nearby schools, delivering trampoline sessions that introduced young people to movement and teamwork.
These experiences provided a practical platform for developing transferable abilities that Sam later used in graduate recruitment processes.
Sam’s journey was not linear. After an initial disappointment when not elected as club President, they pivoted and put themselves forward for a Students’ Union Officer position, which they won.
That decision was a turning point: it converted a sporting setback into an opportunity to acquire formal leadership experience and to practice governance, public communication, and stakeholder engagement. The combination of sporting commitment and student representation taught Sam how to navigate competing priorities and to remain focused on long-term goals. Those lessons became central to the way they approach workplace culture and inclusion today.
The role of setbacks in building resilience
Sport often exposes individuals to immediate feedback: success, failure, and the need to try again. For Sam, missing the Trampoline Club presidency felt significant at the time, but it highlighted a core principle of athletics—getting back up after a fall. This concept of resilience translated into a willingness to explore alternate routes to the same objective. By stepping into the Students’ Union Officer space, Sam cultivated organisational skills, strategic planning, and coalition-building that would not have developed in the same depth through sport alone. This combination of persistence and adaptability is what employers frequently seek in early-career candidates.
Election experience and personal growth
Running a successful campaign required Sam to articulate priorities, mobilise peers, and manage a visible public profile—tasks that mirror many professional responsibilities. Through these activities they practiced community engagement and learned to present concrete achievements in interviews. The experience also reinforced that leadership can be earned through different channels: committee roles, volunteering, and sport-related outreach all count. Sam’s story demonstrates how a disappointed candidate can become an effective leader by reframing the setback as a chance to experiment with different leadership styles and practical problem-solving methods.
Sport as a training ground for employability
Sam views the Trampoline Club as more than just a competitive outlet; it was a laboratory for skills that translated directly into the workplace. Serving as coach and judge developed communication, accountability, and assessment abilities, while the role of Social Secretary nurtured a sense of inclusion and group dynamics. These activities helped Sam understand how to create environments where people feel they belong—an insight central to their current role in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. In short, sport provided scenarios for practising leadership, conflict resolution, and event organisation that are easily cited during job applications.
Turning club duties into interview narratives
One practical advantage Sam highlights is the ability to offer vivid, specific examples when discussing competencies with recruiters. When professional experience is limited, university sport and society roles supply demonstrable situations for questions about teamwork, initiative, and resilience. Sam suggests students catalogue projects, responsibilities, and outcomes from their extracurriculars so they can present measurable impacts in applications. If you need help putting those experiences into professional language, Sam recommends booking time with a careers adviser to transform club anecdotes into polished evidence of employability.
Advice for students considering involvement
Sam’s encouragement is straightforward: get involved. Whether your aim is to discover a new hobby, expand your social circle, or develop tangible skills, participation in sport or campus groups widens options after graduation. Remember that sport is not only about competition—it’s also about belonging, collaboration, and personal development. Authenticity and approachability are important: Sam found that being genuinely interested in people built trust and helped to grow networks. For students keen to make these experiences visible to employers, Sam reiterates the value of reflecting on what you learned and seeking support from university careers services to craft effective application stories.
