Volleyball Ireland are delighted to appoint Frances Wargo to the internship role of Sustainability Officer. Frances joins from Wake Forest College in the United States on a short term role over the Summer months.
Frances will lead the development of Volleyball Ireland’s Sustainbaility education, research and strategy development project in partnership with Impact3Zero. The first education workshop will be held on Weds 6th July at 7pm. You can register here >
More about Frances:
She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States and is a rising senior at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
She is majoring in Communications and minoring in Religious Studies. Frances worked with the Atlanta Hawks within the National Basketball Association (NBA) the previous summer in their Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility department on their journey to Zero Waste. Prior to the internship, Frances hadn’t been interested or knowledgeable about sustainability, but that experience sparked a passion for the issue. The Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena have since then become the first sports and live entertainment venue to achieve a TRUE certification for zero waste. Frances is also a manager for Wake Forest’s men’s basketball team and a social media intern for the nonprofit BCM Georgia back home. While not having experience in volleyball directly, Frances has a love for all sports. Growing up, she played soccer, tennis, and rode horses. At Wake Forest, Frances is a member of the equestrian team. After college, she wishes to work in the sports industry, hopefully still in Atlanta.
Frances’s first time in Ireland was six years ago with her mother who had worked with an Irish publishing firm out of college. After renting a car, they drove all over Ireland and experienced as much as they could. That’s where Frances’s love for Ireland started. When meeting up with one of her mom’s old colleagues, she remarked that she would like to live or work here one day. When looking at colleges, Frances made sure that her school would have a study abroad program in Ireland. Originally, the study abroad program would have happened the previous summer, but it got cancelled because of Covid. Within Volleyball Ireland, she will be helping launch sustainability efforts and assist with volleyball becoming one of the sports on the forefront of sustainability issues
While in Ireland this summer, Frances intends to experience as much of Irish culture as she can. Through the program, Frances and others received a lesson in Gaelic games like hurling and Gaelic football (one more successfully than the other). Each weekend is a new experience, and hopefully a new hike. One of her favorite things about Ireland is the nature and how lush everything appears. While only here for two months, Frances hopes to make a big impact in both sports and people’s lives.
