Stephanie Weber never had a career plan. She spent the start of her career working with people with disabilities before enrolling on the Sport & Exercise Science course at Edinburgh Napier. After gaining additional qualifications and acquiring work experience, she has now landed her dream job working for the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023’s local organising committee. Read more about Stephanie’s career and how you can gain a once-in-a-lifetime experience by volunteering at the upcoming World Games.

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“Some people know what they want to do from a young age. They have a goal, and they go for it. That wasn’t me. I'm really happy with where I am right now and I’m not sure it would have happened if I’d made different decisions.”

After finishing high school Stephanie Weber didn’t know what to do next. To give herself some breathing room she left Germany and headed to England to work as part of a gap year. By chance she got a job working with people with disabilities and absolutely loved it. An experience that was meant to be a stopgap ended up lasting years.

Some of Stephanie’s colleagues had additional sport and nutrition qualifications and this prompted Stephanie to complete a sports massage training course. She realised that this was an area she was interested in, and this began the next chapter of her journey.

Stephanie graduated from Edinburgh Napier in 2011 with a BSc Sport & Exercise Science degree. She remained in academia and earned a Masters degree before becoming a PhD student. She was involved in a research study that investigated the level of anxiety and depression in young athletes. When the study ended Stephanie had only published one of the three papers required as part of her PhD. She would need to fund her studies herself if she was to complete her doctorate. This wasn’t feasible and so Stephanie left academia and headed down a new path.

However, she didn’t want to abandon the children after spending time learning about them. Therefore, before she left the study, Stephanie and her colleague organised a range of short mindfulness activities that would help the young people deal with the range of emotions that they face.
Stephanie offers her advice

“Every job that you take will bring you more experience. Not just for your work knowledge but for life in general. It is worth exploring different job opportunities because you never know where it might lead you.

Also, don’t be afraid of the unknown. Your career is like life - one step at a time.”

Stephanie then gained additional teaching and sport qualifications and worked as a trainer for a company that organises fitness holidays. After this she worked for a local county’s sport association which gave her great insights into how organised sport works at a local level.

A group of athletes standing in front of two pillars with the Olympic five rings hanging in the air
She is now Manager - Athletes & Civic Engagement at the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023. She is part of the organising committee and looks after athlete engagement and volunteer recruitment for people with intellectual disabilities.

Special Olympics

Special Olympics is the world's largest sports movement for people with intellectual and multiple disabilities. Founded in the 1960s by Eunice Kennedy Shriver – the sister of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, today it provides year-round sports training and activities to more than 5 million athletes in 174 countries. It is officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The highlight of the sporting calendar is the Special Olympics World Games. The World Games take place every two years and alternative between winter and summer contests.
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports movement for people with intellectual and multiple disabilities. Founded in the 1960s by Eunice Kennedy Shriver – the sister of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, today it provides year-round sports training and activities to more than 5 million athletes in 174 countries. It is officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). 

The highlight of the sporting calendar is the Special Olympics World Games. The World Games take place every two years and alternative between winter and summer contests.Special Olympics is the world's largest sports movement for people with intellectual and multiple disabilities. Founded in the 1960s by Eunice Kennedy Shriver – the sister of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, today it provides year-round sports training and activities to more than 5 million athletes in 174 countries. It is officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 logo

The highlight of the sporting calendar is the Special Olympics World Games. The World Games take place every two years and alternative between winter and summer contests.

Berlin is the host of the next summer games. Between 17-24 June 2023, there will be:  
  • 7,000 athletes 
  • 26 sports 
  • 170 nations 
  • 20,000 volunteers 
  • 9 days full of sport 
Special Olympics is looking to recruit 20,000 volunteers for the world's largest inclusive sports event. Volunteering brings numerous benefits, including gaining new experiences, meeting people from all over the world, free entry to the contest, meeting international athletes and much more!

Apply now!

Published February 2022