Recreation Programmers

I graduated with an Honours Bachelors in Outdoor Recreation in the spring of 2021. Since then, I spent a summer working as a camp coordinator at The Boys and Girls Club of Thunder Bay, and in October of 2021, moved on to my current position as a community recreation coordinator for Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services in Kingston, Ontario.

As a community recreation coordinator, I plan and run events, organize local outreach initiatives, and manage programs that service the local military community. The job has me wearing many hats throughout the day; one minute I may be designing program plans for an after-school daycare, the next I may be discussing marketing strategies to promote upcoming holiday events, and the next I may be meeting with representatives from the local public library to discuss partnership opportunities. That variance and responsibility is the most rewarding aspect of the position, I’m constantly learning new skills, meeting new people, and having new experiences.

My time in the ORPT program played a key role in my career path. Like my position, ORPT has a lot of variance; at 8:30 I could be learning key methods for research design, then at 10:00 I could be learning what makes an effective outdoor leader. Before beginning the program, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do after I graduated, which I think was for the better, as I got to try my hand in many aspects of the field and refine my plan for my future as I went along. It helped that the professors and instructors in the program were all passionate and enthusiastic teachers. Be it Kelsey’s mock courtroom, or Darryl having his students throw their shoes across the classroom, every class was engaging and enjoyable.

I’m still in the early stages of my career, but I know that no matter where I go, the ORPT program will always be more than just a degree.