UP-and-coming streamer Amy “SassQueenAmy” Campbell has been named the Lenovo E-pprentice, collecting $5,000 as well as the latest Legion equipment (including a Legion 5Pi gaming laptop) to boost her game development skills, along with valuable mentorship from industry figures.
Amy was absolutely thrilled by the announcement and said she was both humbled and excited to be named Lenovo Legion Epprentice.
“There is an incredible wealth of talent in the Australia and New Zealand gaming communities, and with hundreds of entries for the E-pprenticeship, I feel honoured to be selected as the winner,” she said.
“I am hoping this experience will help me understand where my skills best fit within the industry so that I can actively start to pursue a career.
“I am also hopeful that the mentoring sessions and the experience as a whole will give me greater confidence in my abilities and allow me to feel that I am worthy enough to stand alongside the many talented and creative people in the gaming industry.”
Over the coming weeks, Amy will receive three on-on-one training sessions to learn more about the key aspects of gaming and help drive her career goals forward.
Lenovo Legion representative Ben Williams said the New Zealand-based Amy had been chosen as the E-pprentice because of her commitment and passion to the industry.
“Amy has not only demonstrated an interest in a career in the industry by pursuing freelancing writing gigs for gaming publications, but has continually sought to expand her knowledge of the industry through education,” he said.
“With a broad ranging interest spanning a number of fields in gaming, we think Amy will thrive with the diverse lessons and mentorship offered through the E-pprenticeship.”
Amy described the prize as “unbelievable” and said it would make a huge difference to her career.
“I am not the most hardware savvy individual so having the Lenovo team provide me with the Lenovo Legion 5Pi will enable me to have the power for high performance gaming on the go – and it looks so stylish.
“This will allow me to focus my energy into making high-quality content without worrying about having the means to do so.
She was also excited about the mentorship sessions, which she hoped would help her build her knowledge and skils.
“The mentorship sessions will be invaluable – all the mentors are being very generous with their time and knowledge to help me get a leg up in the gaming industry,” she said.
“Their one-on-one guidance will offer me a one of a kind opportunity to not only refine my skill set but understand their steps to getting into the industry and how I can use those learnings to my advantage so early in my career path.”
She is really looking forward to the whole experience and can’t wait to get into her new role.
“I love to learn and can’t wait to ask as many questions as possible in my mentor sessions. All of the industry professionals I will meet over the next couple of weeks have such diverse expertise and will really help me define what to do next,” she said.
Game On Australia CEO Pete Curulli is one of the mentors for the E-pprenticeship and said he was really looking forward to helping Amy on her journey.
“It is an incredibly humbling opportunity, I’ve always been very passionate about passing on my experience and knowledge to the next generation,” he said.
“We met for the first time on Zoom earlier this week and chatted for an hour.”
Pete said Amy was a fantastic fit for the E-pprentice and had a bright future ahead of her in the industry.
“She’s got a lot of energy, she’s incredibly motivated, she looks like a performer, and she has everything she needs in terms of a raw skill set,” he said.
“The thing I see in Amy is she represents the future – and getting around her and supporting her and encouraging her means the future is in the good hands.”
Amy was similarly enthusiastic about the E-pprenticeship and said she could not wait to get started.
Lenovo Legion have given me an opportunity that is beyond my wildest dreams,” she said.
“The care and support they are putting into this experience is more than I could have hoped for.”