Monica Rivas Smits is applying to the Master in Management program at IE. She discusses how playing hockey for over 10 years has contributed to her personal and professional development. It taught her to be a team player, goal-oriented, and reliable. As captain, she learned to motivate others and manage commitments. Professionally, these skills will help her work well in teams, as required in the program. Playing hockey also kept her healthy in body and mind. Overall, it shaped her into a driven individual and team player suited for the business world.

1. Application to Master in Management at IE
Monica Rivas Smits
May 2017

2. Today’s objective:
Show IE an activity I enjoy doing and explain why it contributes to
my personal and professional development

3. On the hockey field for more
than ten years
• At the age of seven I started playing hockey at Oranje
International, a club in Belgium.
• I was a left midfielder and team captain for many years.
• For two consecutive years I was selected for the Provincial
Championship of Belgium.
• At the age of fourteen I was the only girl player of my club
to undergo the selection process of the National Hockey
Team of Belgium

5. Why does playing hockey contribute to my personal
development:
1. It taught me how to be a team player and has made me a competitive
individual that is goal-oriented and very communicative.
2. « Mens sana in corpore sano ». Playing hockey has kept me strong in body
and mind. Doing sports allows me to remain positive and energetic.
3. Hockey has shown me the importance of being committed to a project.
Not showing up to games or practices is unacceptable. Hence, as a team
player one needs to be reliable and manage time correctly.
4. I learnt from sports that today's failure can be tomorrow's success. There
is nothing wrong with failing if one overcomes it and succeeds next.
5. Lastly, being part of a hockey team implies that one forges strong
friendships with team members. Working together with my friends is very
important to me.

6. Why does playing hockey contribute to my professional development
One of the reasons why I want to study my masters at IE is the emphasis on team-
work. In the professional world one needs to know how to work and manage
different groups. This is not a given skill. Hence I haven chosen to apply for a
master’s program that requires a lot of teamwork and active involvement of students.
1. I am committed team player at work. For example, during my internship at
Getting the picture I worked hard together with designers, consultants and
copywriters. The mix of our different insights and angles of approaching the same
topic during brainstorm sessions gave very positive outcomes. I look forward to
work in teams at IE.
2. Being the captain of my hockey team has taught me that in order to be good
leader one needs to be a real team player that motivates and brings people to work
together. For example, at the age of sixteen I set up together with a group a
successful mini-enterprise called « SMARTCARD ». We sold silicone key holders
and after nine months of operation we recovered our investment and distributed a
100% dividend to our shareholders.

7. Conclusion
• The qualities of a team player come forward in both the
sports field and at work.
• Playing hockey contributed to my personal development by
forging me into a goal oriented and committed individual.
• Professionally it has helped me to become a great team
player that enjoys working on projects with other people.