{"id":10535,"date":"2024-02-12T09:01:51","date_gmt":"2024-02-12T15:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=10535"},"modified":"2024-02-12T09:01:51","modified_gmt":"2024-02-12T15:01:51","slug":"taking-the-next-step-uwl-recreation-management-masters-helps-working-professionals-harness-their-potential","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/taking-the-next-step-uwl-recreation-management-masters-helps-working-professionals-harness-their-potential\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking the next step: UWL Recreation Management master\u2019s helps working professionals harness their potential"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Photo<\/a>
Kristine Patterson (second from left) applied her UWL master’s capstone project to host an “Unplug to Reconnect” event at UW-Superior.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UW-La Crosse alumni are making big career moves thanks to the skills and experiences they gained from UWL\u2019s online\u00a0Recreation Management \u2013 Professional Development master\u2019s program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While serving as a recreation coordinator for the Berwyn Park District in Berwyn, Illinois, Nicole Collier was exploring ways to take the next step in her career.\u00a0Collier\u2019s boss suggested UWL\u2019s master’s\u00a0program, a two-year, fully online offering designed for working professionals.<\/p>\n

The program covers an array of topics from the philosophical foundations of leisure, play, and recreation; data evaluation and management; and diversity and social justice in recreation.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach class really helped open my eyes even more in this field,\u201d Collier says. \u201cWhat I really enjoyed and got a lot from was my classmates\u2019 experiences. I was presented with some amazing ideas, and I would think about how I could either incorporate something like that into my own agency or perhaps make some adjustments to make it work. Having a group of people from so many different areas in recreation but also across the U.S. was really amazing, and a vital asset to this program.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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After earning her degree in 2023, Collier was promoted to superintendent of recreation at the Berwyn Park District. In this role, she is now responsible for overseeing staff, managing resources\u00a0and leading various initiatives.<\/p>\n

Collier hopes to rally her team behind a new master plan intended to make the Berwyn Park District a model of excellence in the surrounding area \u2014 a challenge UWL helped prepare her to tackle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program gave me greater insight into upper management, ultimately creating more confidence in my leadership skills,\u201d Collier says. \u201cI have become a more effective communicator not only in a professional capacity\u00a0but personally as well.\u00a0UW-La Crosse allowed me to see I had all the tools to be a good leader. It just helped me fine tune them, and for that, I will always be grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is exactly what we had hoped for and envisioned that our program could support our students in,\u201d\u00a0Kate Evans<\/a>, academic program director, says.\u00a0 \u201cWe have extraordinary professionals enrolling in our program, and it is humbling to help support them as they realize their professional goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kristine Patterson, a 2021 graduate of the Recreation management \u2013 Professional Development master\u2019s program, is also putting her UWL experiences to good use.<\/p>\n

As the director of Campus Recreation at UW-Superior, Patterson has grown increasingly interested in mindfulness both personally and professionally.<\/p>\n

Her master\u2019s capstone project, \u201cPutting Mindfulness and Well-Being into Practice Through Campus Employment,\u201d explored the possibility of creating a program that could serve as a catalyst for mental health support and positive change in the community.<\/p>\n

Upon earning her degree, Patterson worked to turn her project into reality.<\/p>\n

The result was \u201cUnplug to Reconnect,\u201d a two-day program in which nine students and four staff members took a break from all electronics during an overnight trip. Activities included hiking, card games, puzzles, coloring, marshmallow-roasting, culminating with a canoe trip on Amnicon\u00a0Lake.<\/p>\n

Participants say they enjoyed learning about meditation methods, mindfulness, being present in the moment and more.<\/p>\n

In the months and years ahead, Patterson hopes to organize additional events, incorporating more components from her capstone project for the benefit of her campus community.<\/p>\n

Seeing recent graduates utilize\u00a0their capstone projects and advance in their careers, Evans says, is a testament to the quality of the program.<\/p>\n

Evans explains the program \u201cwas built from the ground up to serve the needs of working professionals in recreation\u201d \u2014 from rolling admission to a flat tuition rate to a well-rounded team of faculty.<\/p>\n

About Graduate & Extended Learning<\/strong><\/p>\n

Graduate & Extended Learning connects the university to the community by offering innovative educational opportunities including degree programs, professional development, youth programs, conference and event services, and test preparation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Written by UWL University Marketing & Communications<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwlax.edu\/news\/posts\/rec-mgmt-masters-alumni\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UW-La Crosse alumni are making big career moves thanks to the skills and experiences they gained from UWL\u2019s online\u00a0Recreation Management \u2013 Professional Development master\u2019s program. While serving as a recreation coordinator for the Berwyn Park District in Berwyn, Illinois, Nicole Collier was exploring ways to take the next step in her career.\u00a0Collier\u2019s boss suggested UWL\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":10537,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104,110],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-10535","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse","institution-uw-superior"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/10535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=10535"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=10535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}