Scott Haines, CRSS, is Director for Campus Recreation at SUNY College at Brockport. He first presented for the Association at the 2003 NIRSA Region I Conference that took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey. That session was “Results of Research: Components of a College Program in Region 1.” Since then, he has presented eleven sessions at various NIRSA events. His most recent presentation, “Leveraging Departmental Goals Using Key Performance Indicators (KPI),” took place at the 2019 NIRSA Annual Conference & Campus Rec and Wellness Expo in Boston, Massachusetts.

Scott presents at NIRSA events because he believes “it’s important to share information with other colleagues within the Association.” He typically chooses to present on results found from research and journal articles submitted to the Recreational Sports Journal. Scott says that presenting on these results “allows colleagues to hear the research findings in a different format. It also allows them the opportunity to ask questions.”

He advises anyone considering submitting a proposal for an in-person NIRSA conference or institute to “select a topic that will be interesting to an audience and that you are interested in as well.” He adds that “presenting gets your name and your institution’s name out there.” In short, presenting is undoubtedly a great resume builder.

Scott also encourages potential presenters to think about co-presenting a session with a colleague. “Co-presenting provides an opportunity to present on a topic from more than one person’s point of view and ideas,” he explains. But Scott’s strongest piece of advice for any potential presenters is to just “go for it!” There’s very little to lose in submitting a presentation proposal, and the potential benefits are tremendous.

Proposals are due August 31

The thoughtful sharing of professionals and students at any level in their collegiate recreation career plays a huge role in driving this profession forward. So wherever you’re at in your recreation career journey, we invite you to consider submitting a presentation proposal for the 2022 NIRSA Annual Conference & Campus Rec and Wellness Expo! We want to hear your ideas!

The proposal form is available now and proposals will be due Tuesday, August 31. Resources for presenters are available online now.