Campus Recreation has been a core component of my college experience. Coming into college, I knew I wanted to get involved on campus and continue playing sports I love and participate in activities I have done my whole life. I quickly learned about what Campus Rec has to offer and became interested in the Club Sport Program. Trying out for the Club Field Hockey Team my first semester of freshman year, and joining the Club Swim Team the following semester, Campus Rec has been a constant throughout my four years.<\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nBeing a club sport athlete has been one of the most significant experiences during my time at URI. The Club Sport Program has not only allowed me to continue playing sports at a competitive level, but has also given me countless memories and friendships. For the past two years, I have lived in an off campus house with teammates from both swim and field hockey. I have continuously made genuine friendships on both teams each year. I am so grateful for my teammates and the support I have received, on the field, in the pool, and in my everyday life. Building connections on the teams, and having leadership and travel opportunities has fostered such a strong sense of community and belonging. I am incredibly grateful for the Club Sports Program and the fulfillment it has provided for me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Campus Rec has contributed to my experience beyond just club sports. I became an intramural basketball referee my sophomore year. While I only stayed in this position for a semester, it allowed me to step out of my comfort zone, and gave me the opportunity to meet new people. After the basketball season ended, I wanted to continue working for Campus Rec. This is when I applied to be a Blog and Copywriter. This position has further immersed me in the Campus Rec community by connecting me with coworkers who became close friends, building my professional skills, and giving me opportunities to collaborate creatively, ultimately having a significant impact on my college experience. The Marketing Team is lively and upbeat, and has proved to be an encouraging work environment that I am humbled to have been a part of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With five program areas, Campus Rec strives to involve all community members. Outside of employment and athletics, Campus Rec has played a meaningful role in my day-to-day life. I began lifting my freshman year. With two facilities on campus, the Anna Fascitelli Fitness and Wellness Center and the Mackal Weight and Cardio Rooms, I was able to become introduced to lifting. I found that I really enjoyed it, and it proved to be a great stress reliever for me. Lifting has become part of my everyday routine and is something that I will continue to do after I graduate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bike path has also been a staple for me, especially as an underclassman. When I didn\u2019t have my car, it was so helpful to be able to get away from campus when I needed to get away from the hecticness of schoolwork and responsibilities. Whether it was for a short walk or a long run, the bike path was always a great way for me to reset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Campus Rec has been incredibly influential in my college experience, giving me meaningful friendships, memories, work opportunities, and leadership positions. Each of these program areas helped me in some way find a sense of belonging and become a part of a supportive community. Whether it is a club sport practice, doing work with the Marketing Team, lifting, using the bike path, or swimming, I am doing something Campus Rec related everyday. As I reflect on the entirety of my college experience, I can confidently say that Campus Recreation has played the largest, and most important role in my four years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
John\u2019s Journey <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When I applied for the sports writer position at Campus Recreation Marketing over winter break, my sophomore year, I had no idea how great of an impact this job would have on me and my college experience. Applying for this position was one of the best decisions I made over my four years at URI for a multitude of reasons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The first reason is the people. I have had the opportunity to meet, interview, and work with so many amazing people over the last five semesters at Campus Rec. From my co-workers to the professional staff and the players and coaches I have interviewed, everyone has been extremely nice and a pleasure to talk to and meet. The Campus Rec Marketing team is filled with incredible people, especially my wonderful fellow blog writer, Erin Mullaney, who make it feel more like a work family rather than a work team. Beyond the office, I loved getting out into the URI community during tabling events. Working events like Flourish Fest alongside coworkers was always a highlight; it was a fun way to meet new students and share what makes this department so special.<\/p>\n\n\n The second reason is the professional experience I gained through this job. As a Journalism and Sports Media and Communications major, this job provided me with countless opportunities to write about a variety of different clubs and intramural sports. Covering sports I wasn’t familiar with, like rugby and sailing, allowed me to widen my knowledge of the athletic world. This year, my responsibilities grew even further with the launch of the new Club Sports website. This semester, I began posting and managing my own stories on the site, which now serves as a central hub for all my club sports coverage. Along with growing as an interviewer and writer, learning the backend of a digital platform and improving my professional communication skills has been invaluable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even when I couldn’t be at a game in person, Campus Rec\u2019s resources helped me stay connected. When writing my intramural championship recap blogs, I often tuned into the live stream on the Campus Rec YouTube channel. The Intramural Sports employees who announce those games do an incredible job, and their commentary always makes the viewing experience that much better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside of working for Campus Recreation Marketing and Club Sports, participating in CR\u2019s Intramural Sports program provided some of the best memories of my college career. I’ve had my fair share of stories, like the time I dislocated my pinky finger in a flag football game my sophomore year. Despite the occasional injury, competing in playoff basketball games and staying active with friends provided an outlet I truly needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is bittersweet to look back on where I started. The very first story I ever wrote for Campus Rec was on the Men\u2019s Club Lacrosse team, so it feels incredibly fitting that my final piece was covering them once again. It’s a full-circle moment that reminds me how much I’ve grown as a writer and person since that first assignment. I am walking away from URI with a lot of great memories and an appreciation for the community that Campus Recreation creates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our Experience <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall, Campus Recreation has proved to play a huge role in both of our college experiences. With so many different program areas and opportunities, the two of us were both able to find a sense of belonging and create our own communities within Campus Rec. While we were both employed through Campus Rec, it was the impact beyond our jobs that had the most influence on our four years, fostering a genuine connection within the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By John Almy and Erin Mullaney<\/p>\n\n\n\n Class of 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As we prepare to graduate this May, the two of us wanted to take a moment to reflect on our individual journeys within Campus Recreation, and the impact it has had on us. While both of us are Blog and Copywriters for the Marketing Team, Campus Rec has shaped our college experience so greatly outside […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4739,"featured_media":6734,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-50"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4739"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6733"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6736,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6733\/revisions\/6736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1178\/team-photo-1024x683.jpeg\")
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