YE Alumni Profile: David Wood
David Wood was introduced to Youthentity as a freshman at Basalt High School when he participated in a business consulting project with other high school students. Partnered with a local business, teams of students would create a strategy to help achieve business owners’ sales and brand-building goals. David worked with Krabloonik, a local dog-sledding and guiding business, where he was able to get a unique perspective on the post-collegiate workplace.
After the project’s conclusion, David went on to join WebEntity, Youthentity’s hands-on business-focused web design program. WebEntity offered web design services to local businesses, and David was once again able to gain experience in web design, client services and the “soft skills” necessary for success in any job.
“Not only were there elements of web design and development, but you had to really serve these business owners,” David recalls. “We learned how to properly respond to an email, and talk to client. No one really tells you how to do any of this when you’re in high school.”
After graduating in 2014, David took a year off. He knew he wanted to work in hockey, specifically on the coaching side. he took that year to attend coaching and hockey-related conferences, networking when possible and soaking up as much industry knowledge as possible. David attended St. Cloud University, where he majored in political science but remained focused on his dream of someday working in the NHL.
After an internship with the Colorado Avalanche, David was retained full time and now works as a staff statistician, tracking players and team data and analyzing this information to develop unique insights in order to then make recommendations to team management staff based on analysis.
Working with the Avalanche “is my dream job,” David stated when reflecting on his trajectory. “Youthentity was such an impactful and huge involvement.” We love hearing alumni stories of how our programs helped guide them. Many thanks to David for sharing his experience with us!
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