When compared to my colleagues at 14 Oranges, it is safe to say that I stand out of the pack, and that had turned out to be a good thing. I have spent the last 10 years of my life dedicated to the game of football. It was my passion throughout high school and well into my time at UBC. I was fortunate enough to play for the UBC Thunderbirds (#3) for 4 seasons, while also winning the Canadian college football national championship in 2015. Largely from my performance in that game, I was selected to participate in the 2016 CIS East-West All-Star game that showcased the top talent in Canada for the CFL draft. As you can probably tell by now, I’m not in the CFL … I’m an inside sales rep at 14 Oranges, and this shows how student-athletes have a winning advantage.

When I first spoke with John Craig, our VP of sales and marketing, he informed me during the interview process that he wanted someone with the work ethic of a football player. This is exactly where my athletic experience would translate into the professional world. During the 2015 season for UBC, I experienced countless ups and downs. In week one, I played the best game of my career after intercepting Laval’s quarterback two times. The following week I experienced an all time low, when I was benched for the entire second half after getting beat on a deep route. What football taught me is that you cannot quit when the going gets tough. Fast forward 2 months and I’m starting at defensive back for UBC in front of 13,000 fans in Quebec City playing for the national championship. It’s the memories like these drive my performance and motivation. College athletes develop a work ethic that is hard to find, they learn how to work together as a team, and know that quitting is never the answer. That is the experience I bring to 14 Oranges.

Although it was well established that I would not need a tech background to perform my job, I cannot help but feel out of place. I have never coded, nor developed a software of any type. One of my colleagues, Manu, likes to joke around with me where he will let me press buttons so I feel like I completed a code for his projects. During company meetings where we discuss application development, I sometimes sit wondering what language they are speaking. But all of this is okay, for what I bring to the table is a national championship mindset. With my experience, I continue to work every day to bring clients to my colleagues to develop a top-notch mobile app. Every week I make strides to improve my sales performance and am always seeking to learn more about the tech world. Our team at 14 Oranges is just like a football team, we are all highly specialized each with our own unique skill set. We have the marketing experts, web experts, app experts, and so on. We also share the same values as a football team, which is the desire to win. Everyone here wants to see the company continue to grow into North America’s leading mobile app provider – and that’s a champion mindset I can relate to!