Interview with Nathan Williams: The Importance of Professional Development
How long have you been part of AORE? What is your history with the association?
I’ve been an AORE member since 2009. My first conference was in Minneapolis where I helped convene the OOPS
pre-conference with Jess Fairbanks (previously of Northland College) and presented an urban orienteering workshop with an
awesome faculty member from University of Minnesota Duluth, Dr. Mark Zmudy. Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to
attend every AORE conference and present at almost all of them. I’ve appreciated all the amazing friendships I’ve made in
AORE and professional development opportunities that have come along the way, whether it’s services offered by the Career
Center, educational sessions, or making connections at socials or on the sidewalk outside of the hotel.
You have also been an integral part of the Outdoor Orientation Program Symposium. How did you get involved with OOPS?
I don’t know that I’ve been “integral” really; I think I’m an OOPS groupie as much as anything else. I first met Dr. Brent Bell
and Greg Corio in 2007 while I was developing a first-year trips program at the University of Wisconsin. I drove down to a
conference in Chicago where they were presenting, just to pick their brains over lunch. Since then, I’ve been able to attend
OOPS numerous times, in addition to helping convene it and operating the website for it. Brent was an awesomely helpful
mentor and sounding board when we were starting the program at UW and I’m continually amazed at the body of work he’s
produced and his ongoing success with OOPS.
On average how many conferences or professional development opportunities do you participate in per year?
I was pretty addicted to conferences and professional development after returning to complete an undergraduate degree (I’m
a former college dropout and recovering web developer) and go to grad school. I would guess I averaged about 5 events a
year over a 4 year time period, including regional outdoor and student affairs conferences, national conferences like AORE,
AEE, NIRSA, ACPA, NASPA, the Coalition for Education in the Outdoors (CEO), the Leadership Educators Institute, and the ACPA
Student Affairs Assessment Institute. Now that I’m in a relatively new professional position at the University of North Carolina
Wilmington, I’m not traveling as much, making it to AORE, regional conferences, and more local professional development
opportunities each year.
How do you seek and acquire the resources to go to these different events?
I encourage students to take advantage of as many conferences as they can, because the conference rates are so much
cheaper for students. I’ve met undergrad and grad students who think they’ll have more resources available for professional
development when they become a professional; this isn’t always the case. I took advantage of generous departmental
funding opportunities when I was a student at University of Minnesota Duluth and the University of Georgia, but a lot of my
conference attendance has been funded by student loans and working. I viewed it as an investment and I’m certainly taking
advantage of the benefits of having a professional network and people that I can turn to for help. I think advance planning is
the most important facet of acquiring resources. So often folks decide they want to present at a conference after deadlines
have passed. I think presenting is the surest way to demonstrate the need for funding, so you have to be thinking at least 6
months to a year out for events that you want to attend and preferably present at.
Do you have any tips for professionals looking to gain professional development but have limited resources?
1. I would suggest taking advantage of distance professional development opportunities is key. Working with AORE task
forces from afar has been an awesome experience to develop professionally and get to know colleagues. There are so
many webinars, Twitter chats, professional blogs, high quality videos, and other resources that no one has an excuse for
not developing professionally in our field.
2. Combine professional development with personal travel. One year, I went to the CEO workshop on a Christmas road trip
back from visiting family in Nebraska. One Thanksgiving, I made a crazy loop to visit Dave Denny (who was at Ohio State
University at the time) in Columbus and then Lindsey MacDonald and John Swerdlow at University of Michigan in Ann
Arbor (sadly, Jeannette was already traveling for the holiday…). I’ve made it a habit to try and visit with Todd Grier and
University of Nebraska folks each time I’m visiting my family in Omaha, an hour’s drive away. It’s “professional” but there
are so many great opportunities and people that I love to follow up with folks and try out new professional events
whenever I can.
3. Read the professional literature and follow up with people who write it. Even if it’s a matter of scanning the contents of
the Journal of Experiential Education or the JOREL or even the Outdoor Insider, it’s crucial to know what work is being
done in our field and who’s doing it. There’s so many valuable avenues that can come just from emailing a manuscript
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