Derek, a transfer student, needed a job with easy access to his classes since his academic workload would be quite heavy his first year on the 40 Acres. Derek embraced an opportunity at RecSports and has never looked back. While moving through the ranks of student employees, Derek now considers RecSports a career to consider when he graduates with a degree in Sport Management.
What sparked your interest about working for RecSports?
When I was an incoming student to The University of Texas I was originally told that I should not get a job because the workload as a transfer student from junior college, to a full time student at a prestigious, academic college would be too much to shoulder. However my roommate and best friend, Ryan Smith, held a RecSports position as an Activity Supervisor and said it would be the perfect job for me. So I applied and was selected as a Field & Tennis Supervisor. That was almost two years ago and now I am a Building Coordinator, the highest level a student worker can achieve. This job has opened up so many opportunities because I have been able to network and meet individuals that I never would have come across had I not been selected for this position.
How has your experience working at RecSports made you consider it as a career possibility?
This job has definitely opened my eyes into the possibility of taking my current job to the next level and actually making it a career. I am currently majoring in Sport Management at The University of Texas at Austin. The NIRSA (National Intramural-Recreation Sports Association) national conference was held April 1-5, 2008, in Austin and it definitely widened my scope of potential careers, as I did not know the extent of the intramural and recreational opportunities available to me after graduation.
What do you find to be the most rewarding part of your RecSports job? What is the most challenging?
The most rewarding for me is the number of people that I come across, whether it be co-workers or just the people that I interact with daily at my facilities. The networking opportunities that have opened up with this job are endless. If I do decide to make recreational sports my career, I am certain that the people I have met will become an advantage when I choose to find a life career. The most challenging aspect of RecSports is the number of hours I worked on weekends. The field and tennis department have early opens for events on most spring weekends. This means that sometimes a long shift can become even longer. One semester I had to work a Lacrosse Tournament at Whitaker Fields where over two thousand participants and spectators attended. This shift started at 6am and I locked the gates at 11:30pm. That's a 17.5-hour shift!
Before you know it, the time will come when you have to leave UT and move on to the next phase of your life. What memories will you remember most fondly as you look back at your time here?
When I look back on my memories that I made while at The University of Texas, I will for sure remember the fun times that I had with my co-workers from RecSports. It is astonishing to think how many times I have gone out and done things with people from work. Take for example last summer when 2 other co-workers and I went out to New Braunfels for a nice relaxing day of floating the river. Little did we know we were going to instead be river rafting class 3 rapids! It had rained several inches the night before and was flooded so we could no longer "relax" and "float". Instead we rafted down intense rapids and made lifelong memories with co-workers. This was and still is one of my fondest memories that I have made at The University of Texas.
