Christian Ramirez
University of Central Florida

Please provide a statement of your personal views on the role and contributions of collegiate recreation in higher education. In your response describe how collegiate recreation has influenced your development.

My idea regarding the role in which collegiate recreation plays amongst college campuses is the opportunity to use sport for change and the opportunity to enhance within student development. Currently, I am a part of the Dreamers Soccer Clinic Non-profit organization which focuses on helping others use sport to pursue something greater. I do so by serving soccer players from my community and being a resource for them to create change through the sport of soccer. We help provide resources for them by creating workshops regarding college access. This has helped me realize my passion for using sport for change and student development. It is why I got involved with Campus Recreation and Sport Programs by participating in Intramurals and being a part of the Men’s Club Soccer team. Thanks to NIRSA, I was able to encounter my closest relationships, continue to play the sport (soccer) that I so passionately enjoy, and continue using sport for change. As the year went on, I was interested in wanting to help others in my campus community to have the same experiences I had, which is why I got more involved with NIRSA. Attending regional flag football/soccer tournaments, and the national soccer tournament have allowed me to develop as a student and as a professional and help provide those experiences to other students, hence the importance in student development.

Within the context of the NIRSA Strategic Plan, what area/item would you say is a major issue students face today? Please identify a student-driven issue that we are currently facing today and how you would like to address this during your term. How will you create solutions in your role on the Student Leadership Team to address it?

Regarding the NIRSA Strategic Plan, the area I would say is a major issue students face today is Equity, Diversity & Inclusion and Sustainable Communities. I believe there are opportunities for us to showcase our knowledge and support when it comes to equity, diversity and inclusion that we are not quite taking advantage of yet. At certain instances, it feels like it is more of an after thought, when it shouldn’t be. Ways in which we can address this or include this with NIRSA are in regional and national tournament and conferences. I understand we already have things in place where we hold seminars, presentations and activities. However, I believe we can still go deeper than that. For example, we should have a template in place where we show how to deliver an equity, diversity and inclusion activity successfully. This template should provide examples on how it can be presented in regional/national tournaments or conferences. The way we make this student-driven is by having the regional student leader create a video/presentation regarding equity, diversity and inclusion that is then forwarded to tournaments in their region to be showcased. We can also emphasize this in the Region Student Lead-On. Regarding sustainable communities, I feel like students and graduate assistants now more than ever are experiencing their coordinators or assistant directors leaving their position, leaving them having to navigate their job on their own. I believe as a student leader, we can find ways to provide help if this occurs. We can emphasize this more by providing resources via newsletter or other NIRSA avenues.

In describing your contributions to NIRSA (i.e. presentations, volunteering, previous leadership roles, etc.), identify how your involvement and experiences meet the Regional Student Leader position criteria and qualify you to advocate for and serve the students of the Association?

Although this is my first year in Region II as a Intramural Sports Graduate Assistant at the University of Central Florida, I have found ways to become involved in this region that involved NIRSA. Most of my experience comes from NIRSA Champ Series. I have been able to meet Region II students and professional staff by attending the Sunshine Flag Football Clinic, Region II Flag Football tournament, Region II Soccer tournament, and National Soccer tournament. I have also had the pleasure to attend the NIRSA Annual conference and Region II conference. My involvement and experiences with these events have allowed me to connect with students from all schools around Region II and have helped me connect them with the world of NIRSA. This has made me understand the similarity of issues in which students are facing today and how a Region II student leader can help. One of the criteria is promote student involvement and engagement at the state/provincial/regional/association level. As a graduate assistant, I have made it my purpose to be an advocate for students in my campus. Overall, I seek ways in which I can make things better for the students. In this position, I have found ways to encourage students to attend regional tournaments and conferences, which I have been successful in doing so. As a Region II student leader, I believe I would be able to do the same in getting student engagement.

As a Regional Student Leader within NIRSA, you have the opportunity to leave a lasting impact on the field of collegiate recreation. With a focus on Student Member Recruitment & Retention, and Student Development what skills, talents, and perspectives would you bring to the Student Leadership Team?

Being involved with NIRSA, I have been fortunate enough to have mentors that left a lasting impact in my life and the field of collegiate recreation. They were the reason why my two pillars became sport for change and student development. They focused not only in helping improve the competitive sports program, but ensuring us students were developing in the way that we should. Students were always first and their approach was carried always throughout the years. They provided us with opportunities to continue to grow professionally and would help us network with people that help benefit what we wanted to do with our journey. That is the same reason as to why we had a positive staff culture, easy recruitment efforts, and high retention. Every time I showed gratitude, their response would always be “just pass it on.” I never understood this until I became a intramural sports graduate assistant. Connecting with students across the region and connecting with students on my campus I started to see myself in them. I could sense the excitement and ambition to want to learn more. Now that I am in a place to help students grow and network I understand the meaning of “pass it on.” With a focus on Student Member Recruitment & Retention, and Student Development, the perspective I would bring to the Student Leadership Team is that which was imposed to me as an undergraduate student. Find ways to teach students transferable skills and help provide them with opportunities that will help them professionally and personally. Regarding recruitment and retention, we need to remind students about the positive experience NIRSA can bring to both themselves and those around them. Continue to encourage attendance to student lead-ons and regional tournament. Best way for one to know is through experience or through network.