I began working with Campus Rec as a Sport Club Supervisor in the beginning of my Sophomore Year (Fall 2013), after having had worked at another on Campus job that wasn’t aligned with my goals or interests. I found myself wanting to be passionate about going to work every day. I was in Kinesiology with a Sports Studies major and the Sports Club Program fit everything that I was looking for. My interest with sports, administrative duties pertaining to club logistics and duties, a valuable event management experience each weekend. After becoming a Program Assistant, I began to envision my future goals and the career path that recreation could lead me down, so I started to look towards gaining experience in other program areas as well. Working with recreation impacted my life after college, it changed some of the biggest decisions that I made post-undergraduate. I decided during my Junior year that I wanted to pursue a Sport Club Graduate Assistantship after college, and that decision to do that would more than likely take me somewhere new, exciting, and far away from New Hampshire. Growing up in New England, the decision to make this change was challenging, scary, but also something I didn’t realize I needed. Working in recreation gave me the opportunity to pursue my Master’s degree, set goals, do something I’m afraid of, continue to be a constant learner in the area of recreation, but most importantly - it challenged me to find my voice and true, undoubted confidence in myself. To think where I would be now if I hadn’t have taken the chance on applying for a Sports Club Supervisor part-time job 5 years ago is a little crazy to think about. I’m now a confident, almost 25 year old woman who’s had 5 years of experience in a field that’s taught me how to collaborate, problem solve, help others, and oversee a Sport Club Program of 37 club teams involving over 1,500 students. I’ve packed up and moved over 1,000 miles away from New Hampshire to Knoxville, Tennessee and have lived here almost 2 full years. I’ve open doors to new friendships, connections, job paths, and countless memories along the way. I’m graduating in less than 2 months with my M.S. in Sports Management and I can say that none of this - not one bit of it - would have happened without the support and opportunities that UNH Campus Recreation gave me. I’m forever thankful for that. I look back on so many of the experiences that I had working at UNH Campus Rec and I can’t help but laugh. I had some of my favorite college memories with classmates and professional staff. If I have to narrow it down ... it would be 2 different memories. 2 of the people that I owe a lot to, just happen to be 2 of the people I’ve had a bunch of really awesome and fun memories with. My first memory is with Beth Goldenberg, and how we were told we looked alike and got mistaken for each other all of the time. For my senior video I chose to star as ‘Beth Goldenberg’ and we wore the same outfit with our hair the same way - and it’s still one of my favorite pictures. Beth and I have a lot of memories, but our red pants picture is pretty much famous now. My second memory goes back to when we had staff training the first summer I worked at Campus Rec (AKA - my first time ever meeting people, really). We went Mendums Pond to end our 2 day long back-to-school training and I was in a canoe minding my own business with coworkers ... then, we see him. Brian Scott, in a single kayak, speeding toward us with the intent of flipping our canoe. Did I think he’d do it? No. Did he do it?On that day, I swore I’d get him back ... and thankfully, back-to-school training for the 2015-16 year was held at Mendums Pond, again. When we paddled over to Brian’s kayak, I had one thought in mind ... revenge. I jumped from my canoe onto the back of his kayak and he slowly took on water. Eventually, he slid right out into the open water. To this day, it still makes me so happy. Also the day that I returned to Campus Rec and they rolled out the red carpet ... when I walked in they clapped for me, announced my arrival over the intercom, and posted my picture everywhere. That was a great day. I have 2 pieces of advice for students. 1) Get involved in as much as you can. 2) Do the thing that scares you. If you have a lot of different interests or potentially a desire towards becoming a graduate assistant one day, get involved! Ask to shadow, intern, or be part of another program areas training, meetings, clinics, events, etc. Sit down with your classmates, coworkers, or the professional staff that you think could give you insight or that next opportunity in the recreation field. That conversation and insight may be able to give you clarity of what you truly want to do and be a part of, or it can be a way to be a way to branch out, make a connection, and be a more well-rounded individual. If you’re not sure - get involved! At the end of the day, if you can say you tried and have a wealth of knowledge and experience, it will set you up for many different career paths - not just recreation. Also, do the thing that scares you. Don’t not choose to move towards a goal, because you are afraid of all that may come with it. The path may not be easy, and there may be personal, professional, and just basic life challenges along the way. However, when you get a moment to sit back and look at all you’ve been able to accomplish on your journey, you’ll feel a sense of relief and achievement. I’m a completely different person now than I was before I chose to move so far away from my support systems and pursue my graduate assistantship, although the thought doing this so far away from home was scary, I wouldn’t be the person I am now if I hadn’t done it.
Year of graduation: 2016
Current occupation: 2018 The University of Tennessee, Knoxville finishing a Master’s Degree in Recreation Management
