Candidate for Region III Student Leader
Cameron Johnson
Cleveland State University
Biography/Summary Resume
Cameron Johnson began his collegiate recreation journey at Indiana State University. It started out as a simple front desk job to get some money into his pockets and then eventually became a passion for him. Cameron started out as a welcome desk attendee to working his way up to becoming a building supervisor. Eventually, after committing to pursuing a career in campus recreation, Cameron was introduced to NIRSA by his mentors at Indiana State University. After attending his first conference (2020 Region III Student Lead On) Cameron was inspired to start being more involved with NIRSA and to take his skill set to the next level. He attended various NIRSA workshops to help improve his professional development and to network. In Cameron’s last semester at Indiana State, he began his facility operations internship, which took his skills to the next level. A couple months later, Cameron accepted a Facility Operations Graduate Assistant position at Cleveland State University. He is also working on getting a master’s degree in sport management.
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.
Collegiate recreation has influenced my development in a number of ways. Working in collegiate rec has put me in positions to develop my professional skills on another level. Communication, teamwork, public speaking, leadership, and much more. Being around professional staff and going to NIRSA workshops and conferences has also influenced my development. Being surrounded by developed and highly skilled individuals in the collegiate recreation field only influences me to be better than I am right now.
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?
Being a student worker in collegiate recreation I have seen a number of cases where students are dealing with the mental health issues that come from the stress of college, work, and life. I will use my decision making and critical thinking skills to create the best solutions possible for this issue in my role on the Student Leadership Team. If I was in the position to help, I would try to organize and create more mental health workshops for universities to use at their own will to help their students dealing with this issue.
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?
The regional student leader position requires leadership, responsibility, and dedication. Through all of my experiences I’ve had in campus rec—attending different workshops and conferences, being a part of the planning committee for a lead on—I believe I have enhanced my professional skill set to another level, a level that qualifies me for the regional student leader position. My involvement has helped me better understand NIRSA’s values and mission, which is to help college students develop and become future leaders through recreation sport. I wish to do the same in the role.
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?
In my past internship experience and in my current role now as a graduate assistant, I have developed projects and programs that helped student development and retention among the staff. I also have acquired many different skills. Those skills include leadership, management, teamwork, communication, decision making, and more. I will be ready to bring all of these skills to the Student Leadership Team.
