Today, I went on my second field trip, escorting students to the OPRA Student Conference in Sandusky. OPRA stands for the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association. It is a non-profit organization that helps to provide the best possible parks and recreation facilities and opportunities. The day started off on a disappointment as only seven of the 18 students that signed up actually showed.
We arrived at the conference and the students went off to their morning session. I spent the time wandering around the convention center and talking to various people that were attending. I’m not going into the recreation field, so it was interesting talking to these people and getting their insights. These talks reaffirmed my belief that the quality of athletic facilities is critical to an athletic program getting stronger.
At lunch time, I was asked to escort a group of students through the exhibition hall as well as having lunch. My group was Hailey from Ohio University and Jared and Josh from Kent State University. They had different things that they wanted to accomplish. Hailey will spending this summer working on outdoor recreation programs for kids with physical disabilities. Jared and Josh want to work with disadvantage youths.
I was impressed with their passion and dedication to being in recreation. They asked me a bunch of questions about my job such as what do I do, what are the drawbacks and how did I get into it among others. In my field, very few people know what I do and we don’t get praised very often; however the first time something goes wrong, we are the first to get blamed. So for them to take an interest was rewarding for me.
The exhibition hall was filled with all kinds of companies that were looking for interns, possible employees and to get their name out there. There was the biggest tractor I had ever seen as well as a huge outside jungle gym with a lot of bright lights and colors. I enjoyed talking to the various vendors and understanding why they do what they do.
Eventually my lunch group and I parted and I met back up with my original group. We walked around the exhibition hall for a bit. I was pleased that they all saw this as an opportunity to network and get their name out there.
We arrived at the conference and the students went off to their morning session. I spent the time wandering around the convention center and talking to various people that were attending. I’m not going into the recreation field, so it was interesting talking to these people and getting their insights. These talks reaffirmed my belief that the quality of athletic facilities is critical to an athletic program getting stronger.
At lunch time, I was asked to escort a group of students through the exhibition hall as well as having lunch. My group was Hailey from Ohio University and Jared and Josh from Kent State University. They had different things that they wanted to accomplish. Hailey will spending this summer working on outdoor recreation programs for kids with physical disabilities. Jared and Josh want to work with disadvantage youths.
I was impressed with their passion and dedication to being in recreation. They asked me a bunch of questions about my job such as what do I do, what are the drawbacks and how did I get into it among others. In my field, very few people know what I do and we don’t get praised very often; however the first time something goes wrong, we are the first to get blamed. So for them to take an interest was rewarding for me.
The exhibition hall was filled with all kinds of companies that were looking for interns, possible employees and to get their name out there. There was the biggest tractor I had ever seen as well as a huge outside jungle gym with a lot of bright lights and colors. I enjoyed talking to the various vendors and understanding why they do what they do.
Eventually my lunch group and I parted and I met back up with my original group. We walked around the exhibition hall for a bit. I was pleased that they all saw this as an opportunity to network and get their name out there.