Reflection
In 2019 I was asked to explain why I wanted to pursue an online Masters degree from North Carolina State University’s Online Parks Recreation, Tourism and Sport Management Program. As part of my application, I wrote:
“I am compelled to complete a course of study that fills in the missing pieces in my knowledge gap while opening doors I am not yet even aware of”. My reflection on that today is: without a doubt, mission accomplished.
The core classes required in the program not only provided the dedicated training I needed in areas like risk and data management, marketing, and finance, they also allowed me to more clearly define my own motivations for what I do. By entering the world of academia, and reviewing scholarly articles, data, and lectures that I would not have been exposed to while practicing, I was better able to connect the dots and explain to people why public spaces, leadership, and design are such critically necessary components to having healthy, meaningful lives. I am walking out feeling smarter than when I walked in. This outcome was a pleasant surprise for me.
Equally important as the content of the classes are all the talented people and organizations I was exposed to. Having worked at the same municipality for 15 years. I was excited to broaden my understanding of what is possible in the parks and recreation world. While this world and network- broadening aspect of my education is a highlight, it is also an area that I realize I could have spent more time on, in order to get more out of my experience. Until my last semester or two, I did not reach out to my cohort or my professors outside of class time. I realize that some part of it is my personality and that I’m not accustomed to university culture. I was the same in undergrad- being a non traditional student who was older, working, and not living on campus. And I have been a little awkward around such accomplished academics as my professors. And I found myself wondering if I was using the right academic terms when interfacing with staff and faculty. That is, until these past six months, when I started to get a bit more comfortable.
I chalk that comfort level up to working with one person: Dr. Aaron Hipp. When I went to him as my advisor with some concerns including how I could find an elective that would be meaningful to me, he agreed to meet with me regularly and take me on in a special topics class. As the weeks went on, he opened up his world to me, supported my development, and was more than accommodating when it came to working around professional or personal challenges that came up. He helped me remember the thread we share across academic, government, private or not for profit sectors- we are all looking to do our best, and together we can do better. That has been exciting for me, and has opened me up to thinking that my academic career is perhaps not over.
It’s hard not to highlight how the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and the reckoning around racism affected my, and everyone’s, experiences in the program. In some sense, being in a distance education program gave me a leg up on others out there struggling to pivot to remote work and school due to the quarantine. But the uncertainty and constant worry about the health and welfare of friends, family and community was undeniably overwhelming. And working in local government meant spending a lot of time in full-on crisis mode, addressing daily-changing needs for our residents and businesses- a mode which I don’t think has stopped.
I am thankful to have had NCSU as a different framework within which I could consider my commitment to racial equity. Before George Floyd’s murder, I thought I was "doing the work", but now I know I was just scraping the surface. And I think that "scraping the surface" is true of the PRTSM program as well. While I appreciate NCSU’s organizational commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), I also note that PRTSM students desperately need to embrace these concepts, and it could benefit them and the profession greatly if DEI is just baked into the curriculum itself. I know this can seem harder to do than it is for me to just say it, but it is possible.
One important aspect about the dual pandemics as challenges is that all of us were going through them (admittedly in very different ways) together. So it is possible those shared experiences developed a sense of belonging in our cohort and teams- and that feeling is really important to think about in a distance education program. One of my favorite parts of the experience was coming to NCSU for orientation. I got to see excited young students celebrate at Packapalooza, meet a few instructors that I would see later in my course of studies, connect on a casual and personal level with some of the cohort, and feel a sense of pride as I drank my first Old Tuffy. And that first month I bought a baseball cap (not my usual style) from the PRTM Graduate Student Association. At that time, I thought I would be catching back up with some of these folks in six months, at some event or conference. Nope. And because of professional obligations I wasn’t able to participate in the Dix Park meet-up for upcoming graduates, but I would have loved to.
While I am pleased to feel that sense of “mission accomplished”, my pursuit of learning is far from over. The last two classes I have taken are electives: History of the Designed Landscape; and Environmental and Social Equity in Design, through the Landscape Architecture program. Led by Dr. Elen M Deming and Kofi Boone, respectively, these classes made me feel the same kind of intellectual fire that I felt in the Conceptual Foundations and Organizational Leadership classes, my two PRTSM favorites. So I am not beyond considering NCSU’s Doctor of Design program, which would allow me to continue my intellectual pursuits as well as advocate for the practical application of innovative urban design approaches and advancements in public space planning and management. Still, the thing I’ve been thinking about the most is pursuing a new role at my organization or a new job outside my organization. I’d love to try out my new brain (yes, it feels like I have a new brain- and that is wonderful!) on something different, and in an environment where I get to keep learning and applying innovative techniques and applications from talented colleagues and community members. This program went by so fast and in many ways, I’m not looking forward to it ending. So my commitment is to keep that spirit of growing and learning alive.
Thank you to all at the Parks, Recreation, Tourism, and Sport Management program.
-Steph Monson Dahl