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Name: Xavier Sagnieres
Class Year: December 2005
Major(s): Business/Finance, 3.5 GPA
Minor(s): Computer Science
Campus Activities, Clubs, Organizations:
- Member of SMU’s Computer Programming Team that placed 12th in the 2003 Association for Computing Machines (ACM) South Central Regional Competition
- Member of SMU’s club hockey team during his freshman year
- Member of the SMU Consulting Club
- Member of National Dean’s List
- Member of Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities
Hobbies:
- Martial arts
- Hockey
- Soccer
A New Perspective on Summer Jobs
Following his freshman year at SMU, Xavier Sagnieres (BBA ’05) responded to an ad in a local newspaper for a position at Medieval Times (www.medievaltimes.com). He thought the job would give him an opportunity to learn new skills as well as overcome his anxiety of performing before crowds. After participating in a two-step interview process that included a casting call, he was offered a position as a knight’s apprentice.
While his peers were slipping into khakis, loafers, and starched shirts for their various summer jobs in retail or corporate America, Sagnieres was donning medieval cloaks and armor, saddling up horses, and wielding broadswords and battle axes. The training he underwent as an apprentice allowed him to apply some of the physical skills he’d learned playing soccer, hockey, and martial arts growing up.
“By the end of the summer,” Sagnieres recalls, “I had begun to think of Medieval Times as more than a summer job, as something I could do throughout my SMU career. I was performing in the shows, learning good customer service skills, and getting to deal with nearly every aspect of the business, from operations to marketing and public relations. So it seemed like a great complement to my business studies at Cox.”
Sagnieres continued to work 25 to 35 hours a week during the fall semester of his sophomore year, and in October 2003, after just four months on the job, he advanced from squire to knight status. Over the next two years, he continued performing at shows almost nightly and began to travel on weekends to promote Medieval Times at parades, conventions, state fairs, and children’s hospitals.
A day in the life of a knight
On a typical weekday, Sagnieres attends classes at SMU in the morning and early afternoon before reporting for knight duty at 4:00 pm. He and his fellow knights train for two and one-half hours and then take a brief respite before the Medieval Times show begins at 7:30 pm. Following each show, Sagnieres stays to greet his fans before making his way home at about 10:00 pm to begin a late night of academic studies.
We recently visited with Xavier to find out more about his unique job.
Why have you stuck with a job that presents such a grueling schedule?
“I’ve acquired so many valuable business skills at Medieval Times. I’ve become comfortable with performing in front of a thousand people. I’ve learned to deal with the unexpected, which is guaranteed to happen just about every night when you’re riding horses and sparring with other knights in front of emotional fans. No two shows are exactly the same. I’ve learned to work with different kinds of people who come from different socioeconomic levels and backgrounds. I’ve learned to work under different managers and management styles. And I’ve had good exposure to all levels of management at Medieval Times, including my Knights Manager, the Operations Manager, the Dallas Castle’s General Manager, and even the Medieval Times owners, who travel from Spain to Dallas every couple of months. On top of all that, I’ve learned to ride horses very well!”
“In addition, I’m very grateful for how flexible Medieval Times’ management has been in accommodating my schedule. Whenever I’ve had to prepare for a test, they have given me a day off.”
What advice would you give to someone looking for a job or internship opportunity?
“Look for a position that you will not only enjoy but that you might also be able to turn into a longer-term commitment, rather than just getting a job that will give you spending money to get you through the summer. Think about how each job opportunity relates to your future professional goals. You learn a lot more about an organization and business in general if you work some place for three years versus three months.”
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