Alumni of the College of Applied Health Sciences have myriad career options thanks to the tremendous diversity of programs. We periodically will put the spotlight on an alum to find out what they’re doing now, what experiences they had and what AHS means to them. This week, we talk to Kelsey Beccue, an RST alum who is development manager for the Urbana Park District.
Q: Why did you pick AHS?
A: Choosing AHS was primarily a function of it being the home of my preferred major—Recreation, Sport, and Tourism.
Q: Which professors had the most impact on you?
A: This is kind of a toughie, but I’ll go with Professor (Cindy) Wachter. I was in the second semester of my sophomore year and still undecided. I had registered for a host of classes, attended them all my first week and promptly dropped them and registered for new ones. One of the classes I registered for was an Intro to Recreation, Sport, and Tourism class taught by Professor Wachter, and I LOVED IT! Once I was in there, I felt like I finally had some sense of direction and selected RST as my area of study. I still had some figuring out to do career-wise, but was finally taking classes that resonated with me.
Q: What course did you most enjoy?
A: I can’t remember the official course title anymore, but I did take a recreation programming class with Lori Kay Paden that was outstanding, and a great “real world” type of experience.
Q: Did you enter AHS knowing your career path, or did AHS help you decide?
A: I definitely did not know my career path when I headed into AHS, but with help from my RST advisor, I got a push in the right direction. When I first came into RST, I thought I wanted a concentration in Tourism Management, but after working through things with my advisor, it became quite obvious that Recreation Management was the right direction for me, and that set me on the course that brought me to where I am today.
Q: Did your AHS experience lead to your current job?
A: Yes—thanks required internship!
Q: What is your current job?
A: I am currently the Development Manager at the Urbana Park District.
Q: What was your favorite on-campus experience?
A: I worked in the concessions division of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics during college, and getting the opportunity to work the different sporting events was really cool. I attended a lot of sporting events I might not have attended otherwise. The football game days were fun, too. Long, but fun—great crew to work with! Seeing Sara Bareilles perform at Foellinger with some of my best pals ranks highly, too!
Q: What would you say to recommend AHS to a prospective student?
A: I’d say that it’s a great college—it’s smaller so you don’t get lost in the crowd as much, and the faculty and advisors are great!