If you've watched the Brisbane Broncos play at home this season - whether on TV or live at Suncorp Stadium - then you've seen Brooke Sharp hard at work.
Brooke, who completed her Business degree in 2012, has worked as an events manager with the NRL team for the past three years - an opportunity the long-time rugby league fan describes as her "dream job".
And after a recent promotion to the role of game-day manager, she's now even closer to the action.
In this role, Brooke is responsible for coordinating everything a fan can see and experience when they head to Suncorp Stadium for a game.
"That includes the activations on the concourse before you enter the stadium, the signage, and working with the sport presentation team for all the content that goes on the big screens, the fireworks display, lighting, and half-time entertainment," she says.
"I also work with the team to coordinate with the stadium and its suppliers to make sure everything runs smoothly."
As the key liaison between the Broncos and Suncorp Stadium, Brooke also works with the football departments of both teams to ensure they have everything they need in place at the venue ahead of the game.
It's a complex and often unpredictable job that draws on the attention to detail and organisational skills she's honed since she was a teenager.
"In high school I was the student council president who is the head of all of the committees, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do for a career," she says.
"It was my friends who said, 'You're always the one organising everything - maybe you should do event management'."
After Year 12, Brooke enrolled in UniSC's Bachelor of Business , which allows students to specialise in Tourism, Leisure and Event Management .
Along the way, she took the advice offered by a lecturer at her very first Orientation session and volunteered at as many events as she could during her studies, including the Caloundra Music Festival and the Noosa Triathlon .
UniSC Tourism, Leisure and Events lecturer Dr Vikki Schaffer says connection with industry is crucial to gaining a well-rounded appreciation for the area students are studying.
"We place a lot of emphasis on cultivating strong relationships with industry and job providers to offer our students useful and unique work-integrated learning opportunities," Dr Schaffer says.
"The experiences are crucial to help student put theory into practise through tailored hands-on learning opportunities."
After graduating, she worked as the marketing and events manager for a local independently owned tavern before moving to London, where she spent 18 months as banquet manager at the five-star Four Seasons Hotel on Park Lane, organising luxury gala dinners and bat mitzvahs for A-list clients.
Her shift to the sporting industry began when she returned to the Sunshine Coast and became head of a local events team at Mantra Hotels .
"We hosted a number of events for visiting AFL and NRL clubs, and over time I built those relationships and helped to develop Mantra's reputation as the hotel of choice for sporting teams," she says.
"At the time, my boss was encouraging me to aim for leadership within the hotel industry, but I had the sense that I would eventually become an event manager for a sporting club - and lo and behold, the job with the Broncos came up."
Brooke says that while her role can be stressful, it epitomises everything she loves about her field.
"The great thing about events is that you put in a lot of effort, but unlike other jobs, you get rewarded right away because you get to see your work play out in real time," she says.
"I love the energy of game day and the feeling of seeing everything come together, but also the unpredictability and being able to problem solve on the spot as issues arise."
But while she's able to take bad weather, tech failures or missing suppliers in her stride, perhaps the biggest challenge for Brooke - who grew up on the New South Wales central coast - has been slightly more personal: switching loyalties from her beloved Parramatta Eels .
"My family are born and bred Eels supporters, and when I was a kid the only time I would go to Broncos games was when they played the Eels or the Rabbitohs," she says.
"When I got the job, of course everyone was excited for me, but a couple of my cousins still like to tease me whenever we play Parramatta - they call me 'Brooke the Bronco'.
"The Eels will always have a place in my heart, but the Broncos are my team now."
