Beth Rattray - Education officer

Beth Rattray landed her dream job at Northern Region Football, where she gets to combine her passions for football, refereeing and educating people.

“I’ve always loved sport and PE, but I couldn’t decide what career I wanted to go into after I finished school. When I heard about the five different pathways offered within the Bachelor of Sport, Health and Physical Education, I knew it was the degree for me.

“The programme gave me a taste of lots of different aspects within the sport and health sector, which made me realise that I definitely want to help people and create positive change within my career.

I really enjoyed studying within such a supportive and close-knit cohort. We all got to know each other and our lecturers really well.

Beth Rattray Bachelor of Sport, Health and Physical Education

“I liked that a lot of my classes involved practical placements. Having the opportunity to coach children from Auckland Normal Intermediate on my placement provided a more beneficial learning environment than any classroom session ever could have.

“I now work as the education officer for community officials at Northern Region Football, which involves recruiting new football and futsal referees and retaining and developing the current referees we have. I love that this job combines my passions for football, refereeing and educating people.

“I also get to travel the region with my job, delivering referee courses and meeting people who love football as well. Seeing young or new referees out on the pitch enjoying themselves makes my work all worth it, and by developing referees, we are also developing the game of football.

“I’m still new to the role, so there’s a lot to learn – but there is a great culture within our federation and I can’t wait to see where this takes me and what I can achieve.”