Applied Science graduate plays netball for the Trident Homes Tactix

Hannah Glen is proof that pursuing your passions can develop into a successful career path. Glen is a 2021 graduate of Ara’s Bachelor of Applied Science (Sport and Exercise Science) and now she’s got her dream job as a contracted player for the Tactix. 

“We start on Sunday and our first game is up against the Southern Steel. So that’s really exciting,” Glen said when interviewed ahead of her first game on Sunday 13 March.

It’s clear that Glen’s a go getter. While studying full-time she also balanced training part-time with the Tactix. In her second year at Ara her hard work paid off and she was awarded a scholarship by Netball Mainland for her fees.

“I’ve been involved as a Tactix training partner for the last couple of years, since I finished secondary school in 2018. All the lecturers and tutors were so understanding, they were really flexible. Having a full contract now is awesome. It’s everything I've ever dreamed of,” Glen says.

“I feel like I've always been super passionate about sport, and I had always played netball growing up. Coming out of school I wasn’t too sure what I wanted to do, but since I had signed a training contract with the Tactix I wanted to stay in Christchurch. The sport and exercise degree at Ara appealed to me, not necessarily long term for work, but it piqued my interests at the time,” she says.

Ara’s Bachelor of Applied Science is offered in three specialisations: sport and exercise science, human nutrition and health promotion. The sport and exercise specialisation which Glen took opens a wide range of career possibilities for graduates; such as performance analyst, strength and conditioning specialist, consultant and roles in sports development.

Glen says that her degree provides her with a valuable backing, especially in the future. 

“People always say how important it is to have another option, because you’re only an athlete as long as you’re fit and injury free.” 

“The programme gave me a deeper understanding of the demands of sport. I find that knowledge is really useful now, for my training. At Ara we also covered nutrition and mental skills – both aspects I'm now able to take with me into my game.”

Glen says that her advice to other learners is “have an open mind.” 

“There are so many different aspects within sport science, and for me for instance, I had no idea I'd be so interested in the mental skills, psychology parts of it.”

As part of the course, students undertake industry placements to give them hands-on experience in the field they’ll move into, something Glen said was really beneficial to her education.

“I did my first placement at Villa Maria, my old secondary school, as a Sports Coordinator Assistant. Then in my second placement I worked with Christchurch Netball Centre, in a youth development role, in which I was given the opportunity to develop the Future Ferns netball programme for years 1 to 6. It was humbling to be able to use both my knowledge from Ara and my previous netball knowledge to be able to develop a resource which is still being used today.”