Leisure services sounds pretty…well, leisurely, but what exactly would an OSU leisure services major do? Caroline Storjohann, a 2008 OSU leisure services management alumna, uses her degree to provide recreational services to the people of west Tulsa.
“When it was leisure services, people would think I worked with amusement parks or cruise ships,” Caroline says. “But now the program is known as Recreation Management, and that more accurately reflects what the program is…a management degree.”
Caroline has been working as the activities director for the community center at Chandler Park in Tulsa for a little over a year. She interviews, trains and oversees all of the community center’s full-time, part-time and seasonal staff. She also handles the center’s special events and recreation schedule and is in charge of inventory management.
Caroline and a co-worker accidentally showed up to work wearing – almost – the same outfit!
Before Chandler, she was at Tulsa County’s South County Recreation Center as a recreation leader. In this position, she says she was more of a recreational instructor and helped organize programs, camps and special events.
County recreation centers, like the ones Caroline has worked at, are an important part of any community and provide recreational programs and services at often a minimal or no cost to its users.
In her line of work, Caroline gets to interact with a lot of youth sports leagues, physical fitness classes and even hang out by the pool in the summer. These are just a few of the services that recreation centers provide, but Caroline notes that each center is different.
“People don’t utilize community and recreation centers here like they do in other parts of the country,” Caroline says. “Sometimes we have to tailor our services depending on our budget and the community’s needs.”
So what’s in store for Caroline this upcoming summer? She’s already started being involved with several youth baseball leagues, is getting the pool ready to open soon and is preparing for a summer camp to start. She’s also really looking forward to teaching a fishing clinic again this summer.
“Although there can sometimes be a lot going on at once, I really do like my line of work,” Caroline says. “I most enjoy getting to see how people benefit from the parks and recreation services we provide.”