Why Consider Going Back to School
Whatever the circumstances that brought you to the field, you may want to take a few moments to examine the current climate of the parks and recreation industry and then consider where you would like your career to be in the future. If you aren't moving forward and taking the initiative to grow professionally through the pursuit of continuing education opportunities or broadening your horizons in other types of higher learning, you may be falling behind. Today's field is constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated. The competitive market in leisure services careers has increased its experiential and educational requirements and expectations dramatically in the last 20 years.

With more and more issues needing the focused attention of today's park, recreation and conservation agency administrators, it has become vital to seek out the knowledge and experiences that allow us to perform at high levels. Top administration, our elected officials and our communities expect more creativity and savvy than ever before in delivering our services.

Educational opportunities through the Illinois Association of Park Districts, the Illinois Park and Recreation Association and the National Recreation and Parks Association continue to expand and be more available and convenient. However, educational sessions, conferences and management schools alone will not provide today's professional with the comprehensive knowledge base essential for managing our quickly changing environment. We owe it to ourselves and to our profession to be the most well-rounded and resourceful professionals in our respective communities. Availing ourselves of the broad spectrum of educational opportunities will compliment the passion and dedication we all have.

management, legal and legislative issues, facility administration, finance, budgeting and other issues critical to the success of the local leisure services agency form a solid core of knowledge that you can tap into every day. An advanced degree curriculum emphasizes prolonged focus on specific topics, beyond the scope of even the best conference workshops or weeklong management schools. That sustained study empowers you to reach beyond your current job responsibilities and exposes you to issues that you may not have yet experienced in the "real world," but soon probably will. Earning an advanced degree can give you the confidence and resources to plan for and respond to both routine tasks and significant challenges when they present themselves throughout your career. Working for this degree provides a background for critical thinking on the field's most challenging issues. The exposure to these issues and the accompanying academic theories and viewpoints presented

The ability to understand and relate to others, whether they are subordinates, co-workers, supervisors, elected officials, community leaders or business professionals is paramount to establishing credibility and mutually beneficial

relationships. Moreover, understanding the challenges facing these same influential groups is crucial to finding permanent solutions to some of our nagging problems. In dynamic and vibrant organizations and communities, we must be able to address concerns with confidence and the intellectual capacity to reach compromise without sacrificing our own principles. An advanced degree will equip you with additional tools to face these challenges.

Cases in Point
Let's talk directly about our experiences getting our advanced degrees.

Dan's work experience was in park and natural resource management, all at the Lisle Park District. He had spent roughly 10 years attending various conferences and workshops in attempts to broaden his exposure to other issues critical to our field. However, what he felt was lacking was a common thread, a staircase where each step builds upon the one previously taken. A master's degree was exactly what he was looking for. His ability to apply course content and class discussion to on-the-job, real-life issues kept him motivated and excited.

Prior to pursuing an advanced degree, Laura was a superintendent of recreation with several years of experience at a variety of agencies. It had been many years since she had completed her bachelor's degree in recreation and park administration, but she realized that in order to advance her career and grow professionally, she needed to take the plunge and pursue a master's degree in recreation administration. Even though she had worked in the field several years, the classes she enrolled in broadened her understanding of recreation and parks administration as a whole and made her a more well-rounded professional.

Pursuing our degrees, among other things, forced us to come to grips with the major issues facing our industry today, such as fiscal responsibility, long-range planning, political influences and staff retention. It pushed us to research other bodies of work, to scrutinize other qualified and tested opinions and then to formulate our own administrative philosophies. While we, as superintendents, may not have been required to weigh in on or be concerned with some of our study issues, we knew that some day we would undoubtedly be faced with numerous situations that would require us to reach into the depths of our training and background. We knew the more diverse the resources and experiences from which we have to draw, coupled with our ability to apply them to appropriate situations, the more confident and trusted our opinions and recommendations would become.

The Challenges and Rewards of Commitment
There is a commitment in the pursuit of higher learning, and in our cases this commitment included attaining master's degrees while working full time and having responsibilities to our families. It is a decision that definitely takes you out of your comfort zone, but is an investment of time that can pay great dividends in your professional career. For us, this decision represented a commitment of almost three years, which our agencies generously supported financially and for which we are extremely grateful. We knew that in order to be on the cutting edge in the field, we had to take the time to sharpen our minds.

What better way than through higher education?

Pursuing an advanced degree is an investment in your own development, in your own career. It will give you the confidence to tackle difficult situations, to form qualified opinions on important issues and to provide sound judgment to people who rely on you to do so. Our intent in writing this article is not to diminish the impact of conferences, workshops or management schools, but rather to promote the entire body of knowledge available to all of us in the field. Each learning venue provides complimentary information about the incredibly diverse, dynamic and ever-changing field of parks and recreation.

We caution you not to venture into a master's or doctoral program thinking that because you may some day have another diploma on your wall success will be waiting at your door. You must be willing to apply the concepts and practices you learn. We encourage all leisure service professionals to consider the pursuit of higher learning and continuing education, not just for professionals aspiring to become administrators, but also those who have come to the realization that they can serve their communities and respective agencies more fully. We encourage you to make the commitment.

Dan Garvy, CPRP, obtained his Master of Science in recreation administration from Aurora University in 2004. He is currently the director of parks and recreation at the Lisle Park District, where he has served in several capacities since 1987.

Laura Barren, CPRP, AFO, obtained her Master of Science in recreation administration degree from Aurora University in 2004. She also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in recreation and park administration from Western Illinois University. She is currently the superintendent of recreation at Lisle Park District, where she has served since 2000.

January/February 2007 - page 22