Conceptual Foundations
The final paper required for the PRT 500 course required students to show an in-depth knowledge and understanding for the basic principles of recreation as it pertains to leisure time and leisure repertoire and the effects it has on an individual or group of people. Select the “Primary Artifact” button below to view the final paper for this course. A summary of the course and a reflection on the artifact is below as well.
Author: Lee Brimmage
Date: October 9, 2019
PRT 500 | Fall 2019
Hyde County 4-H | Dragonfly Detectives Summer Program
Summary
Conceptual Foundations was my first Graduate Level course at North Carolina State University and my dive back into the all too familiar world of academia. Though I had been working full time and always enjoyed researching and writing in my free time - this was much different! There was more accountability, there were strict deadlines, and most importantly there were GRADES! The syllabus and the 10-point grading scale that I hadn’t worried about in several years was suddenly back! Not to mention, online classes were never my favorite during my undergraduate studies, so that definitely added to my apprehension of pursuing a Master’s in a strictly virtual format. Dr. KangJae “Jerry” Lee made my first experience in Graduate School absolutely incredible though. He was very knowledgable and enthusiastic about teaching, but also enjoyed learning from our class too. I always enjoyed how he seamlessly intertwined his life experiences within our course lessons. I also felt very fortunate to have been amongst such a great cohort of intelligent and encouraging professionals that made our class meetings a very welcoming environment! My Graduate School experience was off to a great start and that made a world of difference moving forward!
Hyde County 4-H | Search and Rescue Program
Reflection
The final paper of the Conceptual Foundations course allowed me to rehash what I have learned throughout the year, gather my thoughts, and apply it to a series of questions regarding how people decide to utilize their leisure time, the effects of that decision making on their daily lives, and how the perceptions of leisure has varied across demographics over time. I was enthusiastic about this assignment because I had a chance to research why certain demographics had negative views towards leisure in natural environments. Working with 4-H, the largest youth organization in the United States, we have always asked why minorities weren’t as interested as their counterparts in certain programs such as agriculture and animal science. This assignment assisted with helping answering that question and begin a conversation on how we can market these programs to better serve our communities in a more welcoming environment. After writing this paper, I began to explore unique programs that would encourage all youth to get out and explore nature. One program that was enhanced by this paper was the Hyde County 4-H Search and Rescue program and the formation of the new ATV Safety Club!
