Running head: Career Trajectory Weyher1

Career Trajectory Paper

Zach Weyher

Georgia Southern University

EDLD 7430: American Higher Education

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Career Trajectory

Introduction

The experiences I have had in my undergraduate studies has influenced my career

aspirations. When I came into college I was completely unsure what I wanted to do in my future.

As a matter of fact, I am still not completely sure, but I have a much better idea of what I would

like to do. I came in undecided as my major and took many different courses to get a better feel

as to what I wanted. I thought I wanted to be an athletic trainer or a science major but that

quickly changed. It was coming down to the wire so I chose to be a business management major,

as this was a broad business degree I figured could be applicable to many fields in life. I was

very satisfied with my choice and still am considering pursuing the business field to this day.

Influences

Referee.

After I graduated from high school, I attended a basketball referee class with my father.

It was at this camp where I became overloaded with knowledge about the art of refereeing. I

knew instantly that I wanted to continue this side job, because that is all I thought it could be at

that time. In my first semester at Georgia College and State University, I joined the local referee

association. Through attending the meetings, I became introduced to Assistant Director of

Recreational Sports at Georgia College. He told me about the intramural program on campus,

about being a student referee, and seeing if I would like to work for him.

Extramurals.

Once I had gone through the referee training at the college, I was officially an employee

for the college. I had not even worked my first shift yet and I was asked to travel to the state

basketball extramural tournament. This is a tournament with people from various schools all
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over the state competing to see who is the state champion. Just as the teams compete, the

referees also compete to see who are the top referees at the tournament. The extramural

tournaments are an excellent way to represent yourself, your school, and your program to those

all across the state, region, and country. I had only worked one shift and I was already

representing the program, I felt honored.

Expanded roles.

Once I returned from my first extramural tournament, I started to fall in love with the

field of campus recreation. I continuously wanted to work more, do more to help, and expand

my role within the program. The next semester, I became a supervisor. The semester after that, I

was given the scheduling responsibilities. My third semester in the program I became the

program assistant, which is the highest student position in the program. These expanded roles

and responsibilities made me want to continue to expand my role in the field of campus

recreation, which is why I became a graduate assistant for intramurals at Campus Recreation and

Intramurals here at Georgia Southern University.

Goals

Short-term goals.

First and foremost, I would like to finish my masters degree here at Georgia Southern

University. Once that is completed I will be looking for an entry level position as an intramural

sports coordinator or program director somewhere in the southeastern United States. Some of

the qualifications that I have seen in postings on bluefishjobs.com include the ability to use a

computer proficiently, the ability to communicate effectively, and the ability to resolve conflict

when it arises ("National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA),

Bluefishjobs.com|Find Your Career Here"). These are all skills that I have been, and continue
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working on everyday through positions that Ive held, or do hold. This is important because

around three years work experience is a requirement for most all positions held in the field of

campus recreation.

I would like to continue my involvement in professional organizations that I am already a

member of. These organizations include NIRSA, the National Intramural Recreational Sports

Association, and GRSA, Georgia Recreational Sports Association. I have been a student

member of both organizations for the past three years and am going to transfer my membership

now to a graduate student membership now. I also was the Engagement Coordinator the last

year for GRSA, which entailed being responsible for spreading knowledge and communication

with the student body on my campus.

While serving as an intramural coordinator or program director I would continue to

serving on various committees. I have served on multiple officials committees as well as been a

Director of Operations for a flag football tournament hosted here at Georgia Southern. In the

next few years, I would like to attend two tournaments a year, and serve as a Director of Officials

at minimum every other year. This is a good way to stay involved in the community and network

with other professionals in the field.

Long-term goal.

After about five years as a coordinator or a program director I would begin to start

looking to advance positions. I would be looking to move to a Director of Intramurals or an

Assistant Director of Campus Recreation. I would like to be a supervisor to a minimum of three

professional staff. Some of the responsibilities that I would be over would include the

supervision of facilities, the creation and execution of emergency action plans, and making sure

that the program is maintaining good customer service and is in good standing with the rest of
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the college ("National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA), Bluefishjobs.com|

Find Your Career Here").

Job Qualifications for my Future Careers

Qualifications that I would need to hold any positions include being a member of NIRSA,

being instructor certified in First Aid, CPR, and AED, and being Lifeguard instructor certified.

These are certifications that I do not currently hold, so I would have to work towards in the

future.

Areas of improvement.

Beside these specific qualifications, other skills include being a quality communicator as

everyday I would have to communicate with staff, participants, and fans. I would continue to

grow my knowledge of sport rules, officials manual, and my practice of the application of the

rules. I will also need to grow my conflict resolution skills. I think I do a very good job of

conflict management but this is something that I can continue to work on. Another large skill to

have is the ability to work in a multicultural environment. This is extremely important in todays

world as diversity is very important, and I would like a program I work for to be known as a

diverse workplace.

Professional Development

Growing in all aspects of my life is something that I aspire to do everyday. Growing in

my career is just one of the aspects. To grow in my career, I will need to work everyday on

perfecting the skills and characteristics that are requested in various job postings. Utilizing my

professional resources, mentoring and networking, as well as collaborating with others, I believe

I can grow everyday.

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Professional resources.

There are a few professional resources that I can utilize to become a better higher

education. First is the Flag Football Rulebook. This is a tool that I will use to teach new

officials how to referee. All of the knowledge needed to play flag football is in that handbook, so

that is a critical resource to use.

Another vital resource is the monthly newsletter sent out by NIRSA. This newsletter is

the best place to find all the most recent news on NIRSA activities (NIRSA Know). You can

get the scoop on new projects within the association, recent and upcoming NIRSA events, and

media coverage of recreational sports (NIRSA Know). This newsletter does a good job of

keeping you in the know of vital information you can find helpful to your campus rec program.

The last tool that I feel would be a great resource is social media. Social media has a

nearly unlimited reach, and is a very important tool in the world today. Utilizing Facebook and

Twitter are great to spread the word about your program, get people to play intramurals, and

update participants on the playing conditions of the fields for the night. Social media is an

absolute must have in order to have a successful program.

Mentoring.

Having a mentor is a great way to grow as a professional. I have multiple mentors who

invest in me as an official, as an employee, and as a person. NIRSA does a great job and

provides the opportunity to apply to both be a mentor and to also be a mentee. I feel that this is a

great thing because sometimes having someone who you dont know might make you more

willing to take their tips and tricks. I have considered applying for this program for that exact

reason, so I can have someone who I do not know give me their advice. These mentors do what
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is most important in the field of campus recreation and that is to push our boundries (Mentor

Program).
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References

National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA), Bluefishjobs.com|Find Your

Career Here. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2015, from http://www.bluefishjobs.com/

NIRSA Know. (2015, February 28). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from

http://nirsa.net/nirsa/know/

Mentor Program. (2015, February 28). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from

http://nirsa.net/nirsa/students/mentor-program/