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Despite being a world-class curler and part of the Swiss national curling team, Marisa Winkelhausen born in 1988, faces a challenge familiar to many elite athletes. Her goal is to earn a sustainable income at the same time as fulfilling her training and competition schedule, with the 2014 and 2018 Winter Games in her sights. Having achieved a 3rd place in the World Junior Curling Championships in 2009 and second place in the 2012 Swiss National Championships, Marisa clearly has Olympic potential. Her chances of getting a job in her initial career choice of optometry was compromised by her inability to work on Saturday's when most curling competition's took place. Joining the IOC ACP programme helped her overcome this hurdle. First, her ACP manager organized an internship with the IT and Medical Professional Staffing Division of Adecco in Bern. This gave Marisa some experience in administration and was a stepping-stone into a role as a medical assistant. Marisa concludes:" The IOC ACP gave me the chance to learn about office work and get a role that does allow me to combine work and sport. In my new job, I can utilize my sports related skills of team spirit, handling pressure and ambition for success."
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