ELC- An Assistant Coach's Perspective: Sergio Rivera

I have had the honor to be a part of the ELC for two semesters in two different roles. My first role was as a junior consultant for NIU’s University Relations project. This project was focusing on how to effectively incorporate social media into their marketing plan. The main takeaways I got from this project was to working outside my comfort level (that being on a marketing project) and the importance of making feasible and economical recommendations.


Currently, I am an assistant coach for one of the McDonald’s Corporation projects. Being an assistant coach has given me experience with what goes on to be an effective leader. Within my first month as a team lead, I have taken away three main things. The importance of:

• Motivating the team.

• Making the team members feel accountable for their work.

• Having an answer and being ready to guide the team when they need it.

I would not have had the opportunity to be in a team lead/project manager role if it wasn’t for the ELC. I was able take my lessons learned as an assistant coach and apply it in order to also be successful in my operations management capstone class.