Chris Lamarucciola Teaches Workplace Skills Through Hands-On Industry Experiences
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Chris Lamarucciola, Esports Manager and Faculty at Conestoga
Chris Lamarucciola, Conestoga College Esports Manager, has been working in the Esports industry for nine years. In college, studying event marketing, he was introduced to the competitive Esports scene, where he started a grassroots organization which eventually became Parabellum Esports.
Parabellum went on to become a leader in the Canadian Esports sector with a North American Pro League team in Rainbow Six, which also competed in the 2021 Six Invitational R6 World Championships in Paris, France.
As the Manager at Condors Esports, Chris has been supporting the daily operations of the team, engaging partnership opportunities in the sector, and supporting the development of the upcoming Esports Arena at Conestoga College’s Waterloo Campus expected to open later in 2025.
Chris Lamarucciola’s design and delivery of “Audience Development and Analytics,” a course in Conestoga’s one-year Esports Marketing and Event Management graduate certificate, led to his “Esports Educator of the Year” nomination through Scholastic Esports Awards. This organization highlights the positive impact of esports in education and personal development, with Chris being the category’s only nominee from a Canadian institution.
“I combine my professional esports industry experience with esports at Conestoga,” said Chris. “I made sure the ‘Audience Development’ course has elements that students can get involved with right here at the college. Students can attend special events, practice what they’ve learned, and then come back to discuss their work and how they’ll take it forward in a career.”
Developing a Course with Industry-Relevant Content
To the “Audience Development and Analytics” curriculum, Chris brought more than 10 years of experience as an entrepreneur and manager of esports at Conestoga, where he combined current industry practice with Universal Design for Learning elements.
“I sprinkled in my esports experience so students learn how to attain and retain an audience in this online sector and so their skills are transferable to other industries they might work for,” said Chris. “I wanted to lead an engaged classroom by building in discussion periods and opportunities for students to gain new skills practically.”
“When the topic is social media and audience engagement, for example, I’ll have students go through various social media platforms and decide which best serves different audiences,” said Chris. “The students determine that Instagram is best used for images and videos, LinkedIn is for business development, and TikTok is for short-form video content. They discuss how it fits into esports and develop audiences from each platform’s unique communication style.”
Conestoga’s ‘Condors Esports’ division uses several social media platforms, so Chris challenges students to describe how they think short-written stories, images, and videos attract and retain an audience based on the platform. By following this lesson-planning format, Chris sees all students attend regularly and ask questions about the overall esports industry.
Incorporating Industry Experiences into Lessons
“A sentiment I hear from students is how they appreciate stories about my lived esports experience. I always remind them it’s possible to have a career in this industry, which gives a more personal connection,” said Chris. “Some students recognized the brand I owned and operated, and I was still involved with it when I started teaching. I could share with students the immediate things going on in esports and how I handled them.”
As Esports Manager at Conestoga, Chris maintains an active presence in the industry and has the same connection with students he sees at the Esports hub and special events. Chris is at the forefront of new trends and can teach them immediately.
Chris suggests, “Get to know your students and how they want to learn. When I was a student, my professors took the time to understand our perspective by asking questions and having conversations. I’ve adopted this approach in my own teaching and will tell my students they’re welcome to stay in contact with me after graduation. They can ask me questions about job interviews or career success.”
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Wesley Butler
Wesley Butler, B.PR, B.A. Comm, and Cert. Post-Sec Teaching, brings 10 years of communications experience to Teaching and Learning. Wesley co-ordinates the semesterly observation of teaching process and oversees the implementation of credit courses offered to Conestoga faculty. He has launched a feature story series to highlight professors' successes at the college, and a weekly digital newsletter to promote Teaching and Learning's initiatives. As a Conestoga faculty, Wesley teaches in the Schools of Business and Communications/Career Development, specializing in courses related to reading and writing skills, public relations and marketing communications. He has also delivered E3 workshops on professional e-mail writing and using generative artificial intelligence for high-quality workplace correspondence.
