On Thursday, December 8, NIRSA President Mila Padgett, Director of Campus Recreation and Wellness at the University of South Carolina Aiken will be speaking with Gracelyn Jones, Competitive Sports Graduate Assistant at West Virginia University and member of the NIRSA Social Justice Task Force Cody Mikl, Assistant Director for Facilities, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and recent chair of the NIRSA Member Network live on the @NIRSAPresident Instagram profile.
Next week, join NIRSA President Mila Padgett and her “nine minutes with NIRSA” guests Gracelyn Jones and Cody Mikl to be inspired, spur innovation on your campus, and ignite your passion for the profession.
In addition to her volunteer role on the NIRSA Social Justice Task Force, Gracelyn also serves on the ERSL Conference Committee where they are planning to “help grow and develop students at HBCUs and get them more involved in NIRSA,” she says. “My passion is helping create balanced healthy lifestyles and helping individuals achieve their goals for what their wellbeing looks like to them. I enjoy creating an inclusive space for students to come and workout,” Gracelyn adds. “Campus recreation is more than fitness floors; it is about helping to give students a place to feel accepted as part of the campus community in any way that ‘wellbeing’ talks to them,” she says.
Cody agrees that there is an increasing acceptance of people with different backgrounds coming to the forefront of campus recreation programs. “We are all unique and our programs and facilities can provide a wonderful environment for people to connect,” he says. “Undoubtedly it is through relationships that we can create opportunities to really encourage one another to continue to become better people. Those are moments of magic that I find lifegiving,” he adds. Cody will be sharing his perspective about an upcoming proposed amendment to NIRSA Bylaws that would allow students the ability to influence changes to association bylaws. “It is my opinion that giving students the ability to vote on our bylaw amendments would be a positive innovation. I believe it will communicate to student members that we value their ideas and perspectives,” says Cody.
Carve out some time on Thursday, December 8 to join Mila, Gracelyn, and Cody for their Instagram Live conversation. Join them at 1:30pm Eastern/10:30am Pacific on the @NIRSAPresident Instagram channel and plan to be inspired, ignite your passion, and learn how to innovate on your campus and in your community!
