| "My biggest frustration (with new graduates) is the seeming lack of willingness to go above and beyond." A superintendent of recreation, responding to the survey |
Across the state, hundreds of park districts, special recreation associations, village recreation departments, forest preserves, and private facilities, provide the last stop on the formal education train for our park and recreation employees of the future. That's a fact that we, as current professionals, and especially those who supervise interns, should take very seriously. A key goal of any internship program should be to address the deficient areas of each student before they enter the field.
In 1998, an informal survey was sent to 70 Illinois park and recreation professionals (superintendents of recreation). Those receiving the survey were asked to select the top five work skill competency and entry-level knowledge areas in which they felt entry-level recreation staff were most deficient. The "non-recreation" specific competencies presented for consideration were:
Customer Service and Managing Conflict with the Public
Proposal/Business Writing Skills
Understanding Personnel Laws
Strong Work Ethic ("Whatever It Takes" Attitude)
Preparation of PR Materials (press releases, brochure copy, etc.)
Coaching/Mentoring Staff Skills
Conducting Effective and Legal Interviews
Public Speaking Skills
Knowledge of Risk Management in Program Planning
Ability to Analyze Registration Trends/Use Patterns
Conducting Performance Appraisals
Sixty-nine percent of those receiving the survey responded, and their composite rankings yielded a Top Ten of deficiencies in recent parks and recreation graduates. (True to the "David Letterman" tradition, the Top Ten are listed in descending order of importance.) Both students and their intern supervisors should review this list and ask themselves how they measure up.
Top 10 Deficiencies in Park and Recreation Grads
No. 10
Ability to analyze registration trends and we patterns.
Suggested Intern Assignments
Analyze fitness club memberships or pool pass purchasers by age, sex, size of family, returnee's versus new, etcetera. Complete a report with data, findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
No. 9
Ability to conduct effective and legal interviews.
Suggested Intern Assignments
Provide intern with resource material to study interview
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FEATURE ARTICLE
"do's" and "don'ts," then have the intern sit in on and
participate in two to three interviews of part-time or
seasonal staff.
No. 8
Suggested Intern Assignments
Require your intern to make four to five "public" presentations during the internship. For example, schedule and speak to a local community college class about
volunteer and employment opportunities with the park
district. Give a five-minute presentation to die board on
"pool study" findings. Present
a 30-minute safety seminar for day camp staff.
No. 7
Suggested Intern Assignments
No. 6
Suggested Intern Assignments
No. 5
Suggested Intern Assignments
No. 4
Suggested Intern Assignments
No. 3
Suggested Intern Assignments
No. 2
Suggested Intern Assignments
No. 1
Suggested Intern Assignments
The internship is only a 12- to 16-week window of
opportunity before students enter the work force. Students should cake the time to improve deficiencies before they get to the internship site. But once there, it is
die professional's job to polish up the rough edges, sending out shining stars to lead the park and recreation
field in the future.
SUSAN K. BALLING, CLP
Photograph: NEDSRA intern supervisor, Lori Miller, coaches University of
Wisconsin-La Crosse intern Jeff Lyon in the finer points of budget monitoring.
Photograph by Lonna Converse, director of public information for NEDSRA.
32 | Illinois Parks and Recreation
Ability to effectively speak in public
Ability to coach/mentor and
supervise staff.
Provide reading materials,
video and personal instruction
on how to help a "good" employee become a "great" one,
and how to turn a difficult
employee into a good one.
Knowledge of risk management in program planning.
Require intern to accompany staff on playground/parks
safety inspections; teach principles and guidelines of risk
management and loss prevention.
Ability to conduct performance appraisals.
Review with intern samples of effective and ineffective
performance appraisals. Assign intern to supervise and
appraise (with guidance) two to three part-time or seasonal staff.
Knowledge of customer service principles and managing
conflict with the public.
Provide literature and video instruction and hands-on
learning (e.g., working the front registration desk). Review with intern customer complaints and how they are
avoided and managed.
Knowledge of personnel laws.
Provide ample instruction and materials in areas such
as legalities of hiring and firing, progressive discipline,
overtime pay, FMLA, workers' compensation laws, etcetera.
Possessing a strong work ethic"Whatever It Takes
Attitude."
Give the intern a dose of reality regarding demands
and expectations in our
field! One survey respondent commented: "My biggest frustration (with new
graduates) is the seeming
lack of willingness to go
above and beyond. Be prepared to approach every job
with an attitude of 'what
can I do for the agency,'
not, 'what do I get out of
it.'"
Ability to write well! Excellent proposal and business writing skills.
Assess your interns writing ability early in the internship. Encourage them to take an outside writing class if
needed. Have one of your best writers critique the interns assignments and help them improve. Give them
outlines and formats to use for standard letters, proposals or reports.
is the assistant to the director for the Northeast DuPage Special Recreation
Association and the recipient of the 1998 ITRS Distinguished Service Award.