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Rejuvenation
Get Involved!
By Scott Dirksen, Co-chair PRC Committee
The groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, reminded us a few weeks ago that spring is upon us, but we still have several weeks to go. As the buzz from the National Conference starts to wear off, and the further we get into our spring break trip planning and travel, we as professionals need to make sure that we stay engaged and revitalized in our own ways. The national conference can and does inspire us to be better professionals, but how do we continue that feeling throughout the year? Sometimes we look too hard for the trailhead or the right path when it is right in front of us the whole time.
We are surrounded in most places with a plethora of professionals in our field. What we sometimes fail to do is to proactively reach out to those local experts and make a connection that can be invaluable for us and our careers. From local wildlife officers, to other outdoor educators, you shouldn’t have to look far to get connected. Many of these relationships for me personally have formed and been fostered at AORE, but it is what we do with the time between each conference that really can push each other forward. As a young professional, I yearn for support more often than once a year.
I find this support in several ways. One, by staying engaged in the AORE both on a committee and staying active with the listserv and articles posted. Another great way I find support is in a regional conference that myself and others in the field began to host for students in 2012. We hosted a professional’s round table one morning of the conference to talk about issues and topics within our programs and field. These talks have been some of the most useful round tables I have ever attended. This regional conference allowed for more intimate and real conversations with other professionals that seemed to sometimes lack at the national level due to the amount of people there. This regional conference gave me the same feelings that I got after the national conference and rejuvenated me for another 6 months. Now that I am in a new location and job I still crave that intimate connection.
In the state of Alabama, we are fortunate to have six other professionals and three graduate students that work in the outdoor field of collegiate recreation. Every semester we have a “meet up” where a different school hosts the gathering in order to get together and participate in a different activity. We carve out some time to talk about issues within our state and programs, and this level of connection has proven to be invaluable for each of our programs and our personal lives. It allows for that “trip” where all those attending have a decent background and knowledge on a skill. The more often we can break down barriers and collaborate with those in our regions, the better off we will be as a profession.
These meet ups have also led to an all-state leadership training. Each school brought a few of their student leaders to a weekend where we focused on both hard and soft skills. This was beneficial on several levels. As one of the biggest SEC rivalries in college sports came together, our students were interacting with each other as if they were all from the same school (of course the Dutch Oven Cook-Off still had some friendly competition). Over time, our teachings can feel redundant and dismissed. When our students can learn from other professionals and hear similar messages to what we’re preaching regularly, it solidifies our lessons and validates us as professionals. Students also learned a new area and place to recreate as well as made connections with friends from across the state.
The ability to connect on a local level is just what us as professionals need, what our students need, and what our programs need. We preach all the time in outdoor education to not “reinvent the wheel”, so why don’t we actually start looking talking to our neighbors about their wheels and ask what they are doing to get down the path?
Access Committee
Awards Committee
If you have questions or want to be more involved, please reach out to the Access Committee chair, Andy Nelson ([email protected])
To learn more about how you can help bring the Awards Committee, and the AORE as a whole, to a new level, please contact committee co-chairs Jenn Velie ([email protected]) or Steven Whitman ([email protected])
Student Development Committee
Research and Publications Committee
For more information about the Research and Publications Committee and how you can help, please contact Dr. Andrew Szolosi ([email protected]) or Dr. Rob Perkins ([email protected])
If you’d like to
join the committee, please contact Chris Bullard ([email protected]) or Jason Gosch ([email protected])