Two More Weeks Until the Soaring to New Heights Conference!

Two more weeks until the Soaring to New Heights Conference! There are so many aspects of conference I am looking forward to this year. One of which is our Sponsor a Student Program at the Annual Awards Luncheon at conference. Today’s newsletter article features the student IPRA is sponsoring at our table this year, Renate Ware, who just a couple weeks ago graduated from the Chicago State University.

 

The Sponsor a Student Program started in 2014. It is a way for students to attend the luncheon for free and a way for agencies to have a student join their table at NO expense to the agency. This is not a program where an agency buys lunch for a student. It is instead a way for agencies to donate their time and attention to a student during the event. Students will be assigned to agencies who signed up for the program and we let the students and agencies know who they are matched with in advance. We hope that as you share your table together, you will take the opportunity to introduce your sponsored student around to your peers, commissioners, and friends. We want it to be a special opportunity for students to network with professionals in the field at a very high level. Further, my goal has always been that by sharing the luncheon with current college students, that they will see those people who are being honored in our field for their work and the students will be inspired to do the best they can do in their careers and to stay in parks and recreation in the early days of their career when finding the right path is challenging. Thank you to everyone who has selected this opportunity to sponsor a student.

 

Each of the last three years, in my travels around the state, meeting with different schools, I choose to select a special student to honor as IPRA’s Sponsored Student. In years past we have honored Maggie Olafson from the University of Illinois (2016), Luke Wyss from the University of St Francis (2015), and Torri Withrow from Southern Illinois University (2014).

 

This year, we honor a future leader in our industry, Renate Ware. I met her last year at the conference, and she immediately stood out to me for her confidence and her dedication to her career goals. Within a few minutes she was volunteering to help at future IPRA events. We stayed in touch, and she reached out to me several months later for a class project. I have every confidence that Renate will make an impact on Illinois Parks and Recreation once her career begins. Further, she was also recommended to me by her professor, Dr. June Price- Shingles. Clearly, Renate makes an impression!

 

She notes the following about herself:  "As of December 15, 2016 I am a college graduate from Chicago State University. I have a Bachelors in Recreation Management and an Associate in Business Administration. My career goal is to become park supervisor and enhance performing arts programs. I want to create opportunities for youth, teens, and young adults to explore the inner artist in them, through dance, poetry, fashion, and theater. In addition to creating opportunities, I want to plan special events, and family workshops to bring communities and families closer." She is currently an hourly physical Instructor, coaching cheer and dance for the Chicago Park District.

 

What an honor it is for me to sponsor Renate at the Annual Awards Luncheon as IPRA’s Sponsored Student. I look forward to meeting all the other students who will have this opportunity. I hope that the agencies sponsoring them will be able to give their students some special attention too. This is a great way to invest in the future of our field.

 

See you all at conference!

Debbie Trueblood, CAE

Executive Director