Skip to Content Recreation, Parks, & Tourism Administration Search RPTA "Live it, protect it, explore it" California Polytechnic State University N a v i g a t i o n Curriculum Information Advising Information RPTA Department > Fall 2008 Newsletter Fall 2008 Newsletter ADDITIONAL LINKS Contact Information Advisory Council Curriculum Information Graduate Program Concentrations How to Enroll Course Schedules Request Info Where in the world is RPTA? Degree Information Make a Donation News & Activities Clubs News & Features Newsletters View all Newsletters Resources & Opportunities Navigation: Faculty and Office Hours Welcome • Dates To Remember • RPTA Donors • Learn-By-Volunteering • RPTA Auction • RPTA Advisory Council • Alumni Spotlight • Senior Spotlight • New Career Paths Student Spotlight • Internship Spotlight • Faculty Research • Donate Resource Links Alumni Spotlight Internships & Senior Project Scholarships Listening to Students College Based Fees Message From The Coordinator Dr. Bill Hendricks Fall quarter always brings about the excitement of a new academic year as a fresh crop of students arrives at Cal Poly. As the economy and resulting squeeze on budgets affects many NEWS & EVENTS aspects of our lives, it also usually creates an increase in the Dr. Brian Greenwood was recognized by the North American Colleges & Teachers of Agriculture with a meritorious award for outstanding teaching at the annual CAFES leadership banquet. Read more number of students applying to universities nationwide. This was definitely the case for the RPTA program. For fall quarter 2008 we had 238 freshmen applicants, the highest number in the 30 plus year history of our program. The challenging aspect of this equation is that we only accepted 69 students (28.9% acceptance rate). What does this mean in terms of the quality of students attracted to the recreation, parks and tourism industries and our upcoming graduates? We are truly getting the cream of the crop of students in California and some very bright people will be representing our profession in the future! Following discussions with our advisory council and two sessions with a strategic planning consultant, we are also pleased to announce the launching of RPTA’s new mission statement, vision, and tagline. Mission: “To advance leadership and knowledge in recreation, parks, and tourism” Vision: “Healthy lifestyles, memorable places, life-enhancing experiences” Tagline: “Live it, protect it, explore it” RPTA's annual benefit and auction with the theme "Fly Away with RPTA: Your Passport to the World" was held Saturday, February 26, 2011 at the San Luis Jet Centre and was a smashing success in breaking records for attendance and overall money raised for the department. Read more The RPTA team of Amber Black, Amy Lepp, Kristen McClay, and Kelsey Pavao captured the first-ever Academic Quiz Bowl This approach will allow us to strategically move forward as we adapt to industry and societal trends. Please know that I wish the best for our entire “RPTA family” as we embark upon the holiday season. And don’t forget, as my dad always said, “keep those cards and letters (emails) comin’.” back to top REMINDER OF IMPORTANT WINTER QUARTER DATES January 9 - Alumni Social, Cliffs, Pismo Beach February 6 - Alumni Social, San Francisco February 27 - RPTA Advisory Council Meeting, San Luis Obispo February 28 - Auction and Dinner, San Luis Obispo March 5 - Alumni Social, CPRS Conference, Santa Clara back to top RPTA Donors July 07 - Oct. 08 The RPTA students, faculty, and staff would like to acknowledge the generosity of our numerous donors and sponsors over the past year. This support allows us to reach new heights in student and program development. Thank you! Mount Whitney Level ($1,500 and over) Individuals Corporate Diane L. and Gary W. Moss Gary W. Moss DDS Omer and Claudia King The Sence Foundation   Hall of Fame Level ($400-$1,499) Individuals Corporate Daniel P. and Linda G. Brunello Cass Winery Mike and Tamara Hollingsworth Central Coast Bride Robert and Kendi Root Pismo Coast Village RV Resort Stacey M. Stanek   Kirk Sturm   Daniel and Kathleen Tonini     Gala Level ($250-$399) Individuals Corporate Alice T. and Stephen M. Cass C. W. Grabowsky DDS Charles W. and Nedra G. Grabowsky Hollingsworth Jewelers Gallery Heidi D. Hodges Hospice du Rhone Elizabeth A. and Richard Hunter J. Kenyon Rupnik, M.D. Jay N. Jamison   championship at the 2010 National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) Annual Congress in Minneapolis, MN. Read more Katherine Soule, a recent RPTA Masters degree recipient, received the prestigious "Future Scholars" award at the 2010 National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) Annual Congress in Minneapolis, MN. Read more A team of RPTA faculty and students partnered with the California Travel and Tourism Commission to develop the Sustainable Tourism Marketing Handbook. The handbook as presented at the 2010 California Sustainable Tourism Summit in Lake Tahoe. Read more Dr. Jeff Jacobs was honored with the 2010 CAFES New Faculty Teaching award; this same honor was bestowed upon Dr. Marni Goldenberg in 2009. Congratulations to both of these well deserving RPTA faculty! Read more Brittany J. Jordan   Bob and Kathee Kraker   Daniel J. and Marylou R. Murphy   Kenyon and Lauren Rupnik   Caleb Siemon     4-Star Level (Up to $249) Individuals Corporate Kathleen R. Allenbach and Phillip H. Kessler 15 Degrees C Barbara Baggerly Best Western Shore Cliff Lodge and Resta Becky W. Baker Camelbak Products Ryan R. Baker Cline Cellars Bernadette and Ralph D. Bardsley Cloudveil James G. Battersby Cowboy Cookies N Grub Bouvier L. and Eva M. Beale Dave Bang Associates Inc Deborah L. and Hugh A. Bello Great Harvest Bread Company Michael A. Bengford Green Acres Lavender Farm Barbara and Patrick Briley Le Boulanger Candace E. and Christopher S. Brown National Corporate Housing John J. Bullaro and Cynthia D. Moyer National Outdoor Leadership School Patricia L. Butier Petit Soleil Deborah M. and Mark Buttress SeaVenture Resort Alison R. and Douglas R. Carscaden Therapy Jeff Chapin Tri-California Events, Inc. Gloria D. and John G. Choma Wells Fargo & Company Alexander Chucholowski and Carla J. Hernandez Woodruff-Sawyer & Company Dianne and John Conner   Mark Corella   Christina M. D'Amico   Jason M. Dallas   Kathleen A. Daniels   Jill M. and Gerald E. DeMers   Bernard A. and Shirley Derech   Steven and Linda Desimone   Martin A. Desrochers   Janell J. Diehl   Joan C. and Tim Diestel   Constance A. and Robert G. Dillard   Ellen T. and Chesley M. Douglas   Anne M. Dowd   David R. and Tisa D. Dunker   Sandra H. and Timothy K. Ender   Miles C. Floyd   Darren Y. Fujikawa   Anne C. Giapapas   Marni A. Goldenberg   Amy L. Golladay   Charlotte E. Gorton   Brian and Jerusha Greenwood   David J. and Kimberly A. Hauxhurst   Heather M. Heider   William W. and Margaret S. Hendricks   DiAnna and H. D. Higginbotham   Todd M. Hove   Nathalie R. Humphry   Jeffrey A. and Jennifer J. Jacobs   Edward V. and Penny P. Jordan   Jonathan W. and Barbara A. Korfhage   Rik J. and Denise L. Kretzinger   Kristi L. Kucera   Jeff and Terry Lane   Susanne A. Linnane   Lisa D. Loring-Reynolds   Melinda I. Lynch   Terrence M. Lynch   Pat and Sue Lyon   John C. and Sheila M. Maher   Richard L. and Janice D. Matteson   Donna G. and Duane P. McRoy   Lindsey N. Miller   Cheryl R. and Leonard B. Miyahara   Molly Q. Morrison   Margaret M. Morton   Anne and Scott Nelson   Tom W. and Sherrie Ness   Jamie M. Okazaki   David W. and Kim R. Olsen   Natalie R. Olsen   Jeffrey G. and Susan T. Passeggi   Karen D. Pecher   Nancy E. Pedersen   Douglas D. and Mary Piirto   Helen L. and Walter N. Rehm   Patti B. Remmenga   Teresa Ricard   Steven R. Rigler   Judith A. and Ronald A. Ritter   Erin M. Ross and Jon M. Garrison   Amy A. Rossi   Jacqueline M. Salamon   Justin A. Schmillen   Stephanie A. Schoen   David R. and Julie A. Sears   Carolyn B. Shank   Christopher J. and Colleen Sichel   Kimberly M. Sones   Jody and Michael Tobin   Christopher J. and Leslie H. Wallace   Judith K. and Thomas P. Walters   Mark M. White   Alan and Elizabeth Wihtol   Crystal L. and Richard A. Young     back to top Learn-By-Volunteering The RPTA Program takes great pride in helping students gain direct field experience through Cal Poly’s “Learn-by-Doing” motto. As RPTA students gain valuable experience with local organizations, they are also directly networking throughout the San Luis Obispo Community. Partnerships have been created with many local organizations such as: EcoSLO Hospice du Rhone Morro Bay Harbor Festival SLO Downtown Association SLO Special Olympics SLO Big Brothers/ Big Sisters City of San Luis Obispo Parks and Recreation YMCA Woods Humane Society Family Care Network Los Osos Little League SLO Home Show Atascadero Parks & Recreation Avila Beach Councourse d’elegance Sea Fare SLO Chamber of Commerce Embassy Suites Hotel back to top “Building a Field of Dreams” RPTA Auction Hey all you RPTA All Stars… you've been drafted!! Come on down from the stands and give us a hand. Save the date for this year's Recreation, Parks, & Tourism Administrations “Building A Field of Dreams” annual dinner and auction, Saturday, February 28, 2009 at Avila Beach Resort. Congratulations to Joe Prescott and Erin Cox whose art work and theme were chosen for this years' fundraiser. Root, root, root, for the home team! Dig up your favorite ball cap, round up your team and catch the opportunity to support RPTA! There is an alumni pre-game warm up (reception) at 4 p.m., and the big game starts at 5 p.m. with a special guest appearance for the first pitch. Rookie tickets (students) are $25 and Boosters (RPTA fans, parents, friends of the program) are $35. For more information please contact co-chairs Andrea McDonald or Mallory Woods or faculty chairs Kendi Root or Cynthia Moyer. You can also visit our website at Recreation, Parks, & Tourism Administration or contact the program office at (805) 756-1288 or rec@calpoly.edu. Invitations are forthcoming, and registration forms will be available online in late December. A block of hotels rooms are available at The Cliffs Resort at $149 rate, (805) 773-5000 and at Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort at $189 (800) 234-5831. You must call my January 28, 2009 and identify with Cal Poly RPTA. Let's Play Ball! 2008-2009 Fundraising Planning Committee Position Names Senior Project/Co- Andrea McDonald chair: Co-chair: Mallory Woods Emcees: Bill Hendricks and Brian Greenwood Faculty Advisors: Kendi Root and Cynthia Moyer Advisory Council Member: Jim Battersby Alumni: Anne Giapapas, Molly Morrison, Kristina Brunello, Amanda Milholland, Ryan Baker, Linda Brunello Davia Montoya, Teresa Karcher, Ashley Antonino, Brittany Committee Jordan, Allison Dockery, Chelsea Buttress, Taylor Voorhis, Jeff Members: Jacobs, Marni Goldenberg, Jerusha Greenwood 2nd Year Reps: Lara Choma and Dana Matteson 1st Year Reps: Kaitlyn Mullinax   back to top RPTA Advisory Council New Member Spotlights Alison Smith Jenks: Alison Smith Jenks brings 16 years of integrated marketing and communications experience to TBA Global. In her role as Vice President of Marketing, Alison is responsible for TBA’s worldwide brand strategy and oversees the marketing communications efforts for its offices throughout North America. Her background includes communications and marketing work with clients in the healthcare, technology and consumer products industries. During her tenure she has managed sales meetings, media events, new product launches, trade shows, investor presentations and various consumer and trade promotions. Markus Huber: Markus Huber is Senior Director of Partner Marketing at Travelocity. Markus started his career at Travelocity in a strategic analysis role that helped Travelocity’s merchant hotel business grow to best-in-class in the online travel industry. Markus is a native of Vienna, Austria and relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989. He received his bachelor’s degree in hospitality management at the School of Tourism at Klessheim, Salzburg, Austria, and his MBA at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, CA. Markus started his travel industry career in the front office of the Intercontinental Hotel in Vienna, Austria. From there he moved on to leading the inbound incentive group department of Vienna’s leading DMC at the time, Austrobus. He worked with all of the most prestigious US incentive companies, including Maritz, GTU, Intrav, and many others. After establishing his expertise in the inbound business, he accepted a leadership position in an outbound business when he opened and managed the Austrian branch of the Danish language tour operator, Tjaereborg Sprogrejser, sending Austrian youth across the world for participation in foreign language vacations. After moving to the United States in 1989, Markus was office manager for Go America Tours in San Francisco. Rick Lawrance: Rick Lawrance was named President/CEO of the California Lodging Industry Association in April 1999. A veteran of the California tourism industry, Rick brings vast experience to this professional organization dedicated to the common interests of lodging owners and operators. Rick began his career in tourism in the early 1970’s, as Director of Tour Development for the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau. In 1975, he accepted the position of Executive Director for the Buena Park, California Visitor & Convention Bureau, and in 1978 was appointed by California Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. to re-establish the previously defunct State Tourism Office, serving as its director until 1981. He also headed a marketing representation and consulting company, TRAVMARK. From 1988 to 1995, Rick held the position of Executive Vice President/CEO of the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce and Visitors & Convention Bureau, a 1200 member regional economic and visitor promotion agency. Rick later served as Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, directing convention and leisure travel sales programs. Rick holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Marketing from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and has pursued graduate studies at the University of Maryland in Public Administration and at the University of California, Los Angeles in Finance. back to top Alumni Spotlight Nellie Aube: Nellie Aube was recently named Business Development assistant for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Cal Poly graduate (RPTA '07) has an enviable resume in sport management that is rivaled by few young professionals in the field. Her volunteer experience included stints with the startup National Golf League, Cal Poly Athletic Advancement Special Events, and ESPN Radio. Those valuable volunteer experiences led to a summer internship with the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and full time employment with the Marketing division of Cal Poly Athletics while finishing her college degree. Her move to the Warriors was made possible through outstanding sales performance as Account Manager for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nellie led the Insides Sales Department in total sales in 20072008 by over 70%. As if her short career was not already impressive enough, she also served as game day staff of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) in the Hall of Fame luxury suite during the 2007 2008 season. Remarkably, Nellie has experience working with four major professional sport leagues and one intercollegiate athletics program in a little over two years of paid employment. Nellie credits the Cal Poly RPTA for encouraging her to obtain hands on experience starting as a freshman. Her advice to fellow RPTA Students is to utilize the combination of persistence and creativity when applying to jobs in sports, always follow-up, and to place yourself in the hiring manager's shoes. Brendan Gail: Brendan Gail was given the opportunity to work at Associated Students Incorporated (ASI) at the end of his freshman year at Cal Poly. The work he did at ASI has been one of the best experiences of his life. Brendan started as a Team Supervisor and over three years he worked his way up to the Student Manager of Event Management. Throughout his time at Cal Poly he had unbelievable support from the professors and supervisors. They pushed Brendan to take advantage of opportunities and explore every angle. During his second year he went to the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) conference and was introduced to campus recreation on a national level. Brendan found out that he could get Graduate School paid for if he secured a Graduate Assistantship (GA) in Campus Recreation. During the next couple of years he worked toward achieving that goal. He was able to secure a GA at San Diego State where Brendan completed his graduate degree in Sports Business Management. After graduation, in July 2008, Brendan interviewed and accepted a position at the University of Southern California (USC) Recreational Sports working with Intramurals and Club Sports. The advice that Brendan would give to current students is to take a look around and utilize your resources while you’re still in school. Cal Poly presents so many opportunities to ‘learn by doing’ and if you’re diligent, you can learn plenty about the ‘real world’ while you're still in school. back to top Senior Spotlight Kyle Schnurr: Kyle Schnurr can’t begin to count all the opportunities that she has had as a result of being a RPTA major, especially her two spring break trips to Greece and Costa Rica with REC 412. From Kyle’s beginnings at Cal Poly she got involved on campus joining Delta Delta Delta, a social sorority, and the RPTA club. In addition, she worked with two different freshman orientation programs, Week of Welcome and the Open House Committee. With Open House, Kyle was part of the Campus and Community Relations team and was responsible for planning the Resource Fair available to prospective students during Open House. Her responsibilities continued to grow as she became President of Rho Phi Lambda, the RPTA major’s Honors Fraternity. Through this experience Kyle planned a Career Fair for RPTA majors and served as a student representative for the CPRS District 8 board, RPTA Advisory Council, and College Based Fee committee. At the same time, she was a committee member for Up Til Dawn, a letter writing campaign that raised about $10,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Four years have gone by so fast, but the fun won’t stop. Next quarter Kyle will be studying abroad in Australia and after graduating in June she hopes to intern with a City Parks and Recreation Department. Shannon Dere: Graduating this spring, Shannon Dere has spent her last four years immersing herself in all that Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo has to offer. Much of her time has been devoted to her work in Campus Recreation and preparing for a career in the field. Shannon has worked for the past three-and-ahalf years for ASI on campus at the Recreation Center. She was first employed as an Intramural Basketball Referee before becoming an Event Student Supervisor in her second year where she was introduced to special events in Campus Recreation. It was not until her third year when she became the Student Manger of Event Operations that she realized her passion for Campus Recreation and her interest in pursuing it as a career. Shannon attended the NIRSA annual conference in her third year, which took her all the way to Austin, Texas. Here she recognized the opportunity that graduate school could provide in Sports Management. She is currently the Student Manager of Facility Operations in Recreational Sports and plans to complete an internship through ASI to further prepare for a career in Campus Recreation. back to top New Student Spotlight William Reichenstein: William Reichenstein is ecstatic to be a RPTA student. Traveling is one of Will’s favorite things to do. He has been to Scotland nine times, almost every Hawaiian Island multiple times, Canada twice, Costa Rica, and around the United States. In the near future, Will hopes to either study at University of Hawaii, or study abroad in Scotland. Growing up, soccer was Will’s life, and it still is a part of him today. He is also an avid participant in the Hawaiian sport of outrigger canoe paddling, flat water kayaking, and stand up paddling. After graduating, Will plans to move into an Olympic training facility and eventually compete in future games for kayaking, as his father did before him. Will’s goal this year is to compete in the Molokai Solo, an outrigger canoe race from the island of Molokai to Oahu, approximately thirty-eight miles. Will is motivated to pursue sports management as his concentration, and is excited for his future at Cal Poly. Lindsey Wong: Lindsey Wong is absolutely thrilled to be a RPTA student. Traveling is most definitely a passion of hers. She has been to Hong Kong, Italy, and continues her annual trip to Hawaii every summer to visit family. In Spring of 2010, Lindsey plans to attend Cal Poly At Sea. By the end of college, she hopes to backpack through Europe, visit her brother in Korea, and witness the Northern Lights in Alaska. In order to visit as many places as possible, Lindsey also hopes to do the RPTA internship abroad, hopefully in a place such as Australia or London. Growing up, cheerleading and dancing played a huge role in Lindsey’s life. Throughout her all star cheerleading years, she managed to land a spot on a team competing at the highest level. Although she is unable to cheerlead or dance anymore due to knee injuries, she plans to coach in the future in order to maintain association with the sport. Aside from sports, Lindsey also enjoys photography and is very active in her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. Lindsey’s goals this year consist of completing her freshman year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a high GPA and traveling as much as possible. Lindsey is excited to see what the next few years have to offer both academically and socially. She hopes to concentrate in Special Events, but is still not completely sure if that is the best choice. back to top Internship Spotlight: Daphne Linker Daphne Linker fell in love with children and art while working for the City of San Luis Obispo’s after-school program. For two years, she watched art positively affect young children, and was inspired to research the effects of arts education on children for her senior project. Upon graduation, Daphne moved to Los Angeles to follow her dreams of restoring art education to public schools. After a month of intense job searching, she found her dream internship. Since August, Daphne has been working as an Events Assistant for P.S. ARTS, an arts education organization dedicated to restoring the arts to public schools in Los Angeles and the Central Valley. P.S. ARTS has 27 Teaching Artists in 24 Title I schools, and serves 12,000 children daily. Last month, P.S. ARTS raised over $700,000 at it’s annual event Express Yourself. During her internship, Daphne has learned countless invaluable lessons, including the importance of organization, having a positive attitude, and maintaining open communication. She honestly never imagined how incredibly hard transitioning into the work world could be, but the most important skill she gained is realizing that you never know who or how someone can help you, so it’s important to treat everyone with respect. back to top Faculty Research Projects: The RPTA Faculty work hard in and out of the classroom to educate their students and conduct research to help improve our communities and experiences though recreation, tourism, and parks opportunities. Listed below are the current research projects of the faculty. Dr. Hendricks Mt. San Jacinto State Park Wilderness Use California Outdoor Recreation Opinions and Attitudes Survey Dr. Goldenberg Longitudinal Study of Outward Bound and NOLS Participants Outcomes of Pacific Crest Trail Hikers Outcomes of Special Interest Park Users Dr. Brian Greenwood Applied Positive Youth Development Research in Community Sport Settings Hybrid Course Design Research Millenial Generation Student-Faculty Perception Research Dr. Jerusha Greenwood Sustainability Tourism Development Using the Driving Force-State-Response Model (published in Dr. Greenwood’s dissertation.) Dr. Jacobs Sense of Community and Impact on First Year Students The Influence of Outdoor Experiences on Affinity for Nature California Coastal Commission and Whale Tail Grants Effectiveness of Environmental Education back to top Davia Montoya, Student Editor Marni Goldenberg, Faculty Advisor/Editor Brian Greenwood, Faculty Advisor/Editor back to top Make a Donation Make a donation to the Recreation, Parks, & Tourism Administration Program! CP Home • CP Find It Get Adobe Reader • Microsoft Viewers RPTA Home • Contact Us • College Based Fees Last Update: 08/3/2009 Recreation, Parks, & Tourism Administration California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 805.756.1288 rpta@calpoly.edu