Thirteen recreation majors recently participated in the 2018 Massachusetts Recreation and Park Association (MRPA) State Conference and Trade Show. They did so as part of their Organization and Administration Recreation class. But before heading to the conference, they had a little help.
In preparation for the three-day state conference, the two faculty members teaching this particular course reached out to the staff of Career Services. Nick Pirelli, an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Movement Arts, Health Promotion and Leisure, and Dr. Daniel Chase, an assistant professor in the department, arranged things so that on March 1 Bridgewater Career Counselor Kristina Feduik visited with students for a conference-preparedness workshop.
She provided tips such as: What to wear to the conference, how to build an online presence, and what sort of questions to ask when networking in person.
Sending Bridgewater students to the MRPA event is, “part of practicing being a professional,” Professor Pirelli said. “It helps open them up to a professional organization that is directly related to their major.”
Ms. Feduik also stressed the importance of following up with connections made at the conference and to consider the event a success if only one solid connection is made. She referenced a quote from the book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop by Susan Cain: “One genuine new relationship is worth more than a fistful of business cards.”
Beccca Varney, ’19, said she found Ms. Feduik’s presentation helpful and looked forward to making genuine connections at the conference.
“I’m graduating next year and think this will help me figure out what I want to do,” she said.
Following the conference, Mr. Pirelli said the event was incredibly successful, and credits the Career Services workshop for ensuring that the students were extra prepared.
“It served as a trigger for these students to begin engaging with this great campus resource for resumes, cover letters and interview preparation,” he said. “The students looked sharp, made some valuable connections through networking and a few even landed jobs… I’m all about high-impact practices. We nailed it with this conference and with the collaboration with Career Services by imbedding both into the syllabus.” (Story by Heather Harris Michonski, University News)
