Helping Produce Successful Outdoor Recreation and Education Conference Results in Lasting Partnerships

By Aaron Conover '93
Director of Ferrum Outdoors

Aaron Conover '93

In the summer of 2015, I was asked by the Roanoke City Parks and Recreation Department to be a host team committee member and the volunteer coordinator for the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) Annual Conference, which was to be held in Roanoke in November 2017.

AORE supports the needs of outdoor educators and recreation professionals who are affiliated with non-profit organizations and actively engages in issues and policies that impact the outdoor industry and its members. AORE also provides opportunities to exchange information, network and support other colleagues and students who are in the outdoor recreation field. The culmination of the AORE mission and goals is the AORE Annual Conference, which is held in different locations in the United States. Past host cities have included Portland, Atlanta, Seattle, and Minneapolis; having Roanoke selected as the location for the 2017 conference was extraordinary.

As an AORE member representing Ferrum College, I agreed to join the host team committee and became one the key players in bringing the 2017 AORE Annual Conference to Roanoke. We had a large amount of work to do to highlight how amazing our region is and to put on an awesome conference that would equal or surpass previous gatherings. This was also the first year that host team committee members where from multiple agencies and organizations. The dedicated crew of fourteen consisted of representatives from three different parks and recreation departments - Roanoke City, Roanoke County, and the Town of Blacksburg; five regional colleges and universities - Hollins University, Roanoke College, Radford University, James Madison University, and Ferrum College; and the Boy Scouts of America.

Volunteerism is the tradition of AORE and is necessary for the onsite operation of the annual conference. I was tasked with coordinating the promotion, registration, training, and scheduling of over 150 attendees who needed to fill 325 volunteer spots during the four days of the conference. The 2017 AORE Annual Conference drew 640 attendees from across the country. It was a team effort, for sure, between the Host Committee, AORE and Event Garde, LLC, the agency managing logistics.

Some Host Team Members

The biggest reward for the time and effort it took to serve on the host team committee and as volunteer coordinator was being able to represent Ferrum College and our outdoor community in such an integral and prominent way. The day to day interactions with the volunteers and many of the other attendees while stationed at the registration desk allowed me to really highlight the positive attributes of the region as well as Ferrum College. The conference may have lasted only four days but the partnerships and network developed between the host team and AORE members will be long lasting. The conference truly lived up to its theme of “Shaping a Community of Adventure”.

The Washington Semester Program: A Semester-long "Study Abroad" at American University

By Dorothy Carroll '18

The Washington Semester Program (WSP) is a semester-long “study abroad” at American University in Washington D.C. WSP students have the opportunity to take internship and concentration-specific seminar courses two days a week and intern three days a week. There are several concentration options: American Politics, Global Economics, Sustainable Development, Foreign Policy, Justice and Law, and Journalism/News Media. I am in the Justice and Law Concentration, and am interning at the Department of Justice (DOJ), Justice Management Division (JMD).

WSP takes advantage of the D.C setting and is a very experiential learning program. “Class” days consist of visiting different places like The National Museum of American History, The Drug Enforcement Administration Museum, The Newseum, House and Senate Hearings, The Capitol, The United States Supreme Court, Quantico, and many more. We also hear from guest speakers, attend internship fairs, and are given the opportunity to join additional LinkedIn and other career development sessions.

Each WSP student has a different internship experience, but mine has been great so far. I have been able to network with people from components outside of JMD, attend professional development workshops, learn about the accomplishments of DOJ employees, and even meet the Attorney General.

Outside of WSP courses, and interning, D.C. has so much to offer to students. For example, I have been able to go to festivals on the weekends and hear a variation of music, see different groups with tents advocating for their cause, taste new food, look at local artwork, and interact with other people at the festivals. I have also been “monumenting” several times, toured the Supreme Court, visited the Library of Congress, explored Arlington Cemetery, walked around Georgetown, etc.

This program has already offered invaluable experience to my undergraduate study of political science and I have only been here for a few weeks. See additional photographs here.