I graduated from A&M in December 1978 and had hoped to obtain a full-time position with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - since I had been working for them in state parks since April 1977, part-time on weekends and full-time in the summer. However, shortly before my graduation, the governor of Texas instituted a hiring freeze.
So - Dr. Les Reid encouraged me to apply for graduate school and offered me a quarter-time assistantship in the Recreation and Parks Department. I was accepted into graduate school and started in January 1979. Most of my courses were business-oriented though, thanks to the inspiration of Dr. John Crompton and his RP 403 (Recreation Administration and Policy) course from Fall 1978, where class members became directors of mythical park districts and had to apply for grants, prepare budgets, etc.
My contacts from my involvement in the student branch of the Texas Recreation and Park Society ultimately paid off, though. I was hired as an assistant to the director of the Corpus Christi Parks and Recreation Department, starting April 2. I withdrew (passing) from all my courses in graduate school except for accounting - I made arrangements with the professor to study on my own, and Dr. Lou Hodges agreed to serve as proctor for the final exam, which I took while on a late April weekend trip to College Station from Corpus Christi. (That course applied to the MBA I earned from Corpus Christi State University, now Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, in December 1983.) That same weekend, I attended the RP Club's end-of-the-year luau on April 28.
I also went to the third annual STRAPS (Student Texas Recreation and Park Society) convention, held at Camp Rio Vista near Ingram, April 20-22, 1979. The RP Club hosted the convention under the leadership of RP Club president and STRAPS vice-president Cody Jetton '79.
© Amanda Pape - 2016 - click here to e-mail me.
So - Dr. Les Reid encouraged me to apply for graduate school and offered me a quarter-time assistantship in the Recreation and Parks Department. I was accepted into graduate school and started in January 1979. Most of my courses were business-oriented though, thanks to the inspiration of Dr. John Crompton and his RP 403 (Recreation Administration and Policy) course from Fall 1978, where class members became directors of mythical park districts and had to apply for grants, prepare budgets, etc.
My contacts from my involvement in the student branch of the Texas Recreation and Park Society ultimately paid off, though. I was hired as an assistant to the director of the Corpus Christi Parks and Recreation Department, starting April 2. I withdrew (passing) from all my courses in graduate school except for accounting - I made arrangements with the professor to study on my own, and Dr. Lou Hodges agreed to serve as proctor for the final exam, which I took while on a late April weekend trip to College Station from Corpus Christi. (That course applied to the MBA I earned from Corpus Christi State University, now Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, in December 1983.) That same weekend, I attended the RP Club's end-of-the-year luau on April 28.
I also went to the third annual STRAPS (Student Texas Recreation and Park Society) convention, held at Camp Rio Vista near Ingram, April 20-22, 1979. The RP Club hosted the convention under the leadership of RP Club president and STRAPS vice-president Cody Jetton '79.
Below: Lynn Timken '79, Carolyn Carlisle '79, Cathy McMahan '80, and Sheryl Tomlinson '79 perform on Friday night at the STRAPS convention at Camp Rio Vista near Kerrville, April 20, 1979.
Above: contact sheet from Spring 1979 RP Club "Luau" - April 28, 1979 (click on it to enlarge it).
Below: Cody Jetton '79 receives the Spring 1979 Silver Chaparral Award from Recreation and Parks Department head Dr. Les Reid as the most outstanding graduate that semester, at the RP Club Luau, April 28, 1979.
Above: Sheryl Tomlinson '79 and Debbie Bishop '79 enjoy the food at the RP Club Luau on April 28, 1979.
Below: Dr. Jim Stribling (MS '69, PhD '76) demonstrates fishing techniques at the RP Club Luau on April 28, 1979.
Above: Dr. John Crompton (PhD '77) and his daughters Christine and Joanne at the RP Club Luau, April 28, 1979.
Below: My College Station family, clockwise from upper left, Dr. Lou Hodges (PhD '71), Lucia Juenger Hodges (MAg '78), Rashelle Hodges '96, and Danielle Hodges.
© Amanda Pape - 2016 - click here to e-mail me.
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