Kevin George is Director of Campus Recreation at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. The comprehensive department supports the health and wellbeing of the Rowan community through informal recreation, intramural sports, sports clubs, group fitness, personal training and aquatics programs.
Campus recreation impacts the health and wellbeing, both physical and emotional, of students and staff. Kevin discusses the important role of campus recreation on a college campus.
Beth Dombkowski:
Hello. My name is Beth Dombkowski and I'm coming to you from the Office of Admissions at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.
Beth Dombkowski:
Welcome to Rowan Confidential. I am joined today by Kevin George. Kevin George is a proud husband and father of three daughters, ages eight, five and 11 months. He is blessed that Rowan is his first employer out of graduate school, completed his undergraduate degree at Robert Morris University and it is a BS in Sports Management, attended graduate school at University of Florida and achieved a Master of Science in Sports Management and was hired as the assistant director for intramural sports and facilities in 2004 but was promoted to director of campus recreation in 2016. Kevin, welcome.
Kevin George:
Thank you.
Beth Dombkowski:
Happy to be here?
Kevin George:
Wonderful. I'm excited.
Beth Dombkowski:
Excellent. Very good. Thank you so much for coming and speaking with us today about what you do, about campus recreation and everything that that entails.
Kevin George:
I'm excited for this, again.
Beth Dombkowski:
I'm going to ask you some questions. I'm going to start at the beginning. What wakes you up in the morning? What's your inspiration or passion or driving force as it relates to your work at Rowan?
Kevin George:
Yeah, I think I'm very fortunate and privileged to have the opportunity to make a change in the lives of individuals on our campus, including students and employees. And so not taking that for granted that each day that I'm in a environment where I'm supported and having resources and availability to do that. And so we're really excited that campus recreation has the opportunity to impact the lives of individuals, especially with their health and wellbeing. But we want to make sure we're outside of campus recreation, having the mindset that outside of our walls when we're walking to another building, you know, just minimal things like making eye contact and smiling or initiating conversations and asking how people are. I think that's a driving force of just making this a community for people to feel like they belong. And we know that's super important for transfers and freshmen. And so we want to make sure that we exemplify our core values at the rec center, which is building relationships, service, student development, and you know, building communities and service.
Beth Dombkowski:
Great. So you've been here for a while and it sounds like you've been in two different capacities here. You were assistant director of intramural sports and facilities and now you're the director of all campus recreation. How has Rowan changed since you've been here and how has recreation, our attitude toward recreation changed?
Kevin George:
Oh, it's been so exciting to be a part of our Rowan University as a thriving university, being one of the fastest growing institutions. And when we doubled in our enrollment, it also gave us some great opportunities, as I said, to impact the lives of other individuals that come onto our campus and through campus recreation, our big philosophies, we want to make sure we are a welcoming, inclusive environment to all individuals. And the challenge that we have is that invisible barrier. If it's only for the athletic and the fit and we want to try to destigmatize that because we feel that by coming into our facility or participating in our programs, you can foster so many dimensions of your wellbeing and we know that sometimes those out of the classroom experiences also really help with your academic success and your career readiness success.
Kevin George:
So we want to make sure we're very intentional that we do provide meaningful experiences and that could be a very quick experience. That could be 15, 20 minutes and making a friend by playing pickup basketball to getting a workout in, playing ping pong, or just hanging out. We know that building community is super important to us and we hope that we can foster that through engagement in our facilities, but we also know we want to go to meet them where they are and we're trying to be very intentional and trying to meet people where they always go and say recreation is not just fitness and sweating and athletics. It can be more than that. It's just what you do in your free time and hopefully we can promote healthy and recreational activities.
Beth Dombkowski:
I remember the first time I went into a gym, I have to say I came to it very late in life. It wasn't until after college or actually in college that I started doing things and I met with a trainer for the first time and he said, "You're looking around and you're looking at other people." He said, "Gyms exist and recreation exists because we are not all perfect and because we are not all fit." And he said, "It's a process for everyone. It's your own wellbeing." And I just thought that was so interesting that that stuck with me because it really impacted my idea about what was capable through recreation. So how do you feel that you impact the world as the director of campus recreation?
Kevin George:
Well I think we also can react to our own situations that are positive and negative. And I think our mindset, we have about 200 student employees that are part-time employees. And when we go over training, we really just talk about the little things make a huge difference. And having a genuine smile and greeting. And when people are leaving our doors and say, "Hey, have a great day." And we truly mean that. And sometimes those little things can make a big difference in the lives of individuals saying, "I didn't feel very good about myself or I'm being stressed out but I chose to walk through our doors to use our facilities."
Kevin George:
And a lot of times people feel better. And the studies show exercise correlates with positive psychology and feeling good and stress management. And sometimes when we're plummeting in our wellbeing that we actually compromise the things that make us feel good or we use alternative like unhealthy options, whether it's things that you shouldn't be doing because that's a way for them to cope. But we know coping in a negative way a lot of times comes back at you in a detrimental way. So, I think with campus recreation, we offer a plethora of interest and opportunities for every student. And the challenge we have is that sometimes we only see students during orientation and mandatory things that are in our facility and we just want to continue to just push for, "There's something for you here and if not, please engage with the campus somewhere else. Student activities, campus activities, Rowan after hours, get a student job."
Kevin George:
But the fantastic thing we just did is we ran a correlation study with our department on campus and it showed that freshmen that come and participate in campus recreation programs, their retention rate is significantly higher than those that don't participate. So, I think it was about 75% maybe aren't retained or 80% and those that come into our facilities in the 90%. So it just tells you by participating in one of our programs or facilities that maybe they'll connect to the campus and say, "This is a place for me."
Beth Dombkowski:
So, if I'm a new students and I see the rec center, I've never really been inside. Maybe I went in during orientation and I'm thinking I want to walk in, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I get there or don't know how I'm going to be received or the machines intimidate me, everything intimidates me because I don't know what I'm doing. How would you advise me?
Kevin George:
I would say we always try to tell our students, first of all, to get outside your comfort zone and this is that real time to find out your authentic self and explore and find out what you connect to and if you have the fortitude to come into our building a first of all, walk in and be vulnerable. We also know students have their own mind games. Students think people are going to judge them on what they're wearing or how they're doing exercises and we know people don't judge each other as often as you think they do, but once you come in, we want to make sure everything is accessible.
Kevin George:
Our main office assistants, which are our frontline staff, they're knowledgeable about pretty much anything and everything you need to know that could give you that opportunity to use your leisure and recreation time. So you might say, "Hey, I played a high school sport, I no longer play, but what do you have that's volleyball or soccer?" And we can connect them to either playing informally and just pick up games to intramural sports where students play against students or a higher level. We have sport clubs where they compete and play against other schools. And then we also have obviously the fitness opportunities, the swimming pool. So we have a ton of things that hopefully students, as you said, maybe they never were into sports and recreation, but that doesn't ... in fitness, but maybe they can start.
Beth Dombkowski:
So if I've never played a particular sport before, I can walk in and get the resources to do that. Or you would point me in the right direction. What would that look like?
Kevin George:
Yeah, absolutely. So, if you walk in we are more than willing to always give a tour. You may have gotten a tour through the admissions process, but we always have somebody ready to go that will be willing to give you a tour and give you just basic information of where can you go, how can you access it, is there a small fee associated for a program. And we also talk about our student employment opportunities. And then, we have flyers, we have resources, we send out emails, and then as far as navigating interest, it's just trying to find out first of all what is their area of interest and then finding out where we can guide them to, to a program or an event.
Kevin George:
And then we also are very open minded. If students have an interest in something and it's recreation, fitness, sports related, we are more than willing to maybe try it out. Maybe have a onetime event [inaudible 00:09:16] a new sport club. But we had 46 sport clubs now of various interests, recreational and competitive. So it could be a rock climbing, outdoor recreation trips or it could be rugby and high hockey and basketball where they play other schools. So we have a ton of opportunities for engagement.
Beth Dombkowski:
So I've seen flyers around campus that say, "Rowan thrive" on them. What, what is Rowan thrive?
Kevin George:
We've been really fortunate to really work on a campus culture of wellbeing and self-care. And we know that this generation, not just the generation of students, even employees, it's just there's a lot going on with the screens and cell phones and instant gratification and we want to make sure that we think holistically, what does self care mean? And then once you're well, how you can help others that maybe aren't well.
Kevin George:
And I think our philosophy with Rowan thrive is everybody's wellbeing is different. You all come from different places. And what we want you to do as the students and employees to recognize we have six dimensions of wellbeing, we have purpose and a lot of people correlate purpose with career. We have physical wellbeing, not just exercise that's getting proper sleep and what you put in your body. We have social. Social is a big one, especially for those incoming freshmen and transfers is just making social connections.
Beth Dombkowski:
Absolutely.
Kevin George:
And we have community and sometimes that's a bigger picture where they'd be serving others or being a part of something bigger. We also have emotional wellbeing and that's a big one right now. And the mental health crisis is on campus. Our philosophy with wellbeing and recognizing your dimensions of wellbeing is that you can be proactive with your wellbeing before you need maybe professional help or if you have professional help taking medication before you come to Rowan why would you change and stop? If it's helping you to do well and excel on things, continue to do that and connect with what resources you need at Rowan University.
Kevin George:
And the last one's financial. And we know the financial hurdles that a lot of students have. They have loans out, that return on investment in their education and outside the classroom experiences really important that they take advantage of those opportunities. And we know we get a student fee allocation that students have a gym membership, but we call, they say, "Oh, do I have to pay to come in the gym?" "No, that's part of your student fees." But some people never come in the doors and they don't have to pay extra for another gym membership.
Beth Dombkowski:
So your title is director of campus recreation. What is recreation? I mean, I think when people hear that they think of sports, they think of the rec center, they think of working out but that's not all it is. What falls under the purview of recreation?
Kevin George:
Purview of recreation really is outside of your employment or your schooling and academics. So anything you do in your recreational time that's not falling under those categories of your employment. So for students that could be your student job or that could be your classes, but for a full time employee, that would be anything outside of your work day. And we think that recreational opportunities and activities can really foster and help you. And a great example is, what do you need to be? Well, I like to just play the guitar once or twice a week and that just makes me feel good. Or listen to music and have coffee in the morning. And that's your recreation. That's your leisure time. And when you compromise that, usually when we're stressed out, that doesn't help you. It actually makes it worse that you're compromising something that you love to do.
Kevin George:
And some people, it's crazy, they want to tune into Eagles football and that helps them thrive outside with their academics and stuff. So just recognize, self-recognition of what that means, what you're doing with your recreation and leisure time, and we also know that sometimes what you choose to do can also be detrimental.
Kevin George:
So, constantly being on social media and seeing everyone's highlights and how that makes you feel. Sometimes it isn't good that it's a filtered life. And so we just want to have real authentic opportunities for engagement, whether it's alone time or you want time with other people and that can foster your wellbeing.
Beth Dombkowski:
So, you're the recreation expert. What do you do that you consider recreation?
Kevin George:
Well, I think it would be terrible that I work in a recreation center and not workout. So, I do my best to work out three, maybe four times a week during my lunch break. But it's also my opportunity to also just see students. A great example is, it's kind of embarrassing, but it's okay, is that now we've grown to 200 student employees. I can't remember everyone's name and that's okay.
Kevin George:
I actually approached a student with a different college's name on their shirt and I just approached her and had their headphones on, "Hey, did you go to that college? Did you transfer to Rowan?" She said, "Yeah, no one knows this college." I said, "Oh, I referee women's college basketball, I've refereed at your school." And I said, "How's your transition to Rowan been? And she said, "It's been great." And I said, "Oh, I want to introduce myself." I'm in workout attire. And I said, "I'm Kevin, the director." And she's like, "Oh, I know. I'm one of your employees. I'm a lifeguard and a swim instructor." And I'm like ... my heart kind of dropped, and I said, it's okay. I went out of my comfort zone to approach a random student to make her feel good.
Kevin George:
And so, those are those little opportunities like the starfish story, like did I make a difference in the lives of these starfish students by getting outside my comfort zone and approaching and let them know that I care about them? And now I know that that employee works for us, that I can now recognize that that employee [inaudible 00:14:31] touch base and see how things are going.
Beth Dombkowski:
So you might not know this, but I was actually one of your employees for awhile as well. I taught indoor cycling a couple of years ago. So, those were very interesting classes and it was such an experience to be able to work with the students in that capacity. A lot of times in admissions we see the student when they come in and never see them again.
Kevin George:
Yeah, and that's a great class too because some people just need the motivation of a group and an instructor that's certified and play some great music. Like some people, that's how they get their workout and they can't just come in on their own or with their friend just exercise. They need that programming. The exercise, the cycling class is a great example. We have a ton of other things. Yoga is big right now.
Beth Dombkowski:
Is it really?
Kevin George:
Just because of all this stress going on and sometimes, although there is definitely some physical wellbeing also that kind of spiritual, emotional connectedness. So that's a big class that we usually get a lot of people come and participate, whether that's the students or employees. But yeah, we were really appreciative all of our instructors and our staff on our front lines that exemplify, like I said, building a community.
Beth Dombkowski:
Classes are great because you show up, you listen to somebody, you do what they tell you and by the time that you really get into it, it's over.
Kevin George:
Yes.
Beth Dombkowski:
And you've gotten your exercise and you've gotten your, I call it my, my attitude adjustment.
Kevin George:
Also, too, some of our group fitness classes obviously in real sports teams and sport clubs, you build a tribe, like sometimes you look forward to getting to know fellow participants in there and you would have never met that person, whether it's a student or employee without participating there. So, sometimes it does build your networks and also gives you somebody else that you can maybe rely and build a friendship.
Beth Dombkowski:
Oh absolutely. Students outside of your major, people that you wouldn't have come in contact with in any other scenario on campus other than you have this thing in common.
Kevin George:
Yeah, absolutely.
Beth Dombkowski:
So what would you say your proudest professional accomplishment is?
Kevin George:
Last year through our national association called NIRSA, Leaders in Collegiate Recreation, our regional conference has a regional service excellence award and I was honored to be given that award last year.
Kevin George:
And then they actually told me that I would have the opportunity to speak in front of them. It was really reflective. I was notified a couple of months before the conference and just being humbled by that award, but really looking out and saying, "Well, how did I get there and who can I thank and be grateful for?" So really a good reflective activity to say, "Well, it wasn't just me." I did some things, but it's like who supported me, my mentors and my former supervisors. And then I also use that platform to really just talk about the mental health crisis and my own journey of wellbeing. Because I've had my own challenges as a male, I'm a male of color, sometimes our generation of males, you shouldn't disclose your feelings and it's a sign of weakness. And I actually in front of 200 or 300 people told my story of my own challenges of mental health. And I got a lot of emails and calls and in person, people that attended the session said that that was fantastic.
Kevin George:
It really resonated with me, I had my own struggles and issues. And I think that's one of the things when we talk about wellbeing is that our employees never show vulnerability or stress because they don't think that's something they want to show to their students or their fellow employees. But I think that makes people real and that we, we all have our ups and downs and we want to celebrate our ups and be in the moment. I read an article or a Ted talk about how our mind wanders whenever we're at our highest moment that we're thinking of something else instead of enjoying the moment because of all of our multitasking and then when we're plummeting and we're not doing well ... I had to learn the hard way that maybe you need to talk to somebody, maybe consider medication.
Kevin George:
Do you have real conversations with those that are close to you and be vulnerable about that. And like I said, I learned the hard way and I think even by sharing my own story, if that helps anybody, like I said, making a difference in the lives of individuals. I was very fortunate to have a platform to tell 200 or 300 people my story and struggles so they may be can help in their own journey of life.
Beth Dombkowski:
It really is amazing how we're all pretty much the same. We're dealing with all of the same issues and if I have a concern and I decide to talk about it, there's probably somebody else that can give me advice or is going through the same thing. I think it's great that you provide a venue for students to share.
Kevin George:
I think the challenge we always have though is whenever we had some real deep meaningful conversations, even with our staff. Some people are worried when they disclose something that's could be perceived, ... they think it's going to come back at them and say [crosstalk 00:19:05] hold it against them.
Kevin George:
And same thing when we talk about people that don't really judge you think they're going to judge. 99% of people would not use something against you if you're willing to disclose something. It's just that feeling that who's going to use this against me? So, that things just as a society, we are very keep it close to ourselves, but when you see people willing to say I've had trouble having a baby or we lost a baby or divorce and you can truly be empathetic to people when they're willing to be a little bit vulnerable and share their journey of life. And other people can say, "Wow, just like me."
Beth Dombkowski:
Just like me. So, you have a lot of students coming in every year. How would you advise the parents of an incoming student that working at the rec center or being involved with recreation is worthwhile because the parent might think that is time that's being taken away from their studies or that is superfluous to their mission as a student? How would you address that?
Kevin George:
Well, first of all, we know this generation of college students are more sedentary. It's just ... it is what it is. And we have the research shows that students that are participating in campus recreation have higher GPAs than the campus average. So just in general, those that participate for some reason they have a little bit of a higher GPA. We talked about the retention rate earlier. I would say for general usage and recreation, just like I said, various studies show that your focus and your stress relief and all those rich things that can be the aftereffect of recreation and participation correlates to being better overall. Whether it's your academics or other jobs that you're participating in. So it's ... the [inaudible 00:20:51] studies say that it's supposed to be 150 minutes a week and we know a ton of people don't get that, employees and students, and so it's that return on investment and convincing them. Say, "Try it out, stick it out, then you'll just see how it makes you feel."
Kevin George:
Like I said, make people feel good. And then as far as our student employment opportunities, I think we really want to push out that we have about 200 employees, only about 20 or 30 of them are anything related to recreation as far as studies go exercise science or physical education. And we really exemplify that, "You know what? You're going to learn a ton of career readiness and employability skills through working for us. I'm sorry you're not going to sit in front of a computer doing your homework and get paid for it. We're going to teach you customer service, working as a team, communication skills, dealing with difficult situations and problem solving." You know, all these great rich skills that employers are looking for.
Kevin George:
A best story I ever heard was from an engineering student. He got a job at Lockheed Martin. He was a student supervisor for sport clubs. He said, "Eighty percent of my interview to get the job at Lockheed Martin was stuff I learned from campus rec."
Beth Dombkowski:
Oh, how interesting.
Kevin George:
Yeah, so that really told me, so when we have our orientations with parents and we mentioned student employment, I always try to share that story and say, "You know what? You don't have to be a sports or exercise science major. We want to work with you, we're going to work around your class schedule. We'll be cognizant of your other opportunities and be respectful, but when you work, we're going to make you work. And you're going to learn some great soft skills."
Beth Dombkowski:
So, I'm going to wrap it up and ask you one last question. Why Rowan? Why Rowan for you? Why Rowan for students? Why are you here?
Kevin George:
Oh, I think for Rowan, it's so funny that ... Roman was not on my radar when I was graduating from University of Florida. I was thinking of university of Florida and Alabama. And then luckily one of the graduate assistants I work with in rec sports was the kicker for the Roman football team in his undergrad. And he just raved about how great Rowan was as a community, like a family. He mentioned recreation, just saying, "Wow, there's just such a supportive student development friendly environment." So when I saw that job was posted and I got the job, he was completely right and I just jumped right in and went in head first. And since then I thought it would be a couple of years stop over to what I thought was bigger and better.
Kevin George:
And I've been had so many growth opportunities here, learning, learning about myself, learning about what I want to exemplify as an assistant director and now as a director. And like I said, looking big picture and saying globally like by making the difference in the lives of individuals now they can be a great contributing members of society and build their own communities. And just embed wellbeing and self-care and what a thriving environment is versus a toxic environment. And we know some things that are under our control, how we react and somethings ... maybe you leave a place that isn't kind of meeting your needs as far as fostering wellbeing, but Rowan's been fantastic for me.
Kevin George:
I'm a proponent of positive change and Rowan's been changing quite a bit since 2004 and I say, "Well, I'm on the boat and I know some things I may disagree with, but I'm going to nod my head and I'm going to still also just focus on spreading health and wellbeing on the campus and I'm going to try to do that in any way possible."
Beth Dombkowski:
Kevin, thank you so much for coming and talking to us today. You have truly been inspirational. Thank you for listening. This is Rowan Confidential.