The director of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Student Recreation and Wellness Center earned recognition for outstanding service at a conference threatened by brutal winter weather.
Nathan Scott
Nathan Scott has been awarded the Wisconsin Intramural Recreational Sports Association Service Award for his advisement of the 2019 regional student-led conference, Lead On, at UW Oshkosh.
“I think the biggest takeaway for me was how impressive our team was to overcome the adversity,” Scott said. “Everyone stepped up and took on additional work, made timely decisions and communicated effectively with the registered attendees from across the Midwest.”
The 32nd annual Region III conference was held Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2019 on the Oshkosh campus with nearly 300 students who attended from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. Extremely frigid temperatures closed the University Jan. 30-31 and threatened to deliver a knock-out punch for the event.
Though some schools chose not to attend, many made the journey to Oshkosh and the Region III Student Lead On was under way with pre-conference activities starting Jan. 30. Temperatures dipped to a record -26 on Jan. 31, with a wind chill colder than 35 below zero.
“Nate showed strong leadership and great judgement while helping the students navigate a very difficult situation,” said Scott Vandermoon with DePaul University of Chicago, who nominated Scott for the award. “In what appeared to be a no-win situation, Nate and his team worked even harder to make the conference an outstanding experience.”
Up for the challenge
Vandermoon noted that there was an unsuccessful search in 2018 for a site to host the Region III Student Lead On for 2019.
“I placed a phone call to Nate to see if Oshkosh would have any interest hosting,” Vandermoon said. “Nate met my half joking/half serious inquiry with much more interest and enthusiasm than I could have ever anticipated. Two weeks later it was official. Region III Student Lead On was coming to Oshkosh, Wisconsin.”
Region III Lead On is a student-led, student-run conference geared towards students and professionals within collegiate recreation. The conference is intended to foster student opportunities for leadership, teamwork, networking and professional development. It featured educational sessions, networking lunches and socials, team building, faculty tours and volunteer opportunities over its three-day run.
The event was promoted as “sure to have a powerful positive impact” on a student’s future career.
Vandermoon said until someone is with a school that hosts the event, one cannot truly understand the time and effort that a host site puts into making Student Lead On successful. Beyond the logistics of hosting the conference, the host site team has a responsibility for mentorship and the development of the student planning committee.
Beyond the teachable moments and empowerment of students to “own the opportunity” of planning the conference, Scott and organizers had to contend with a wildcard of Wisconsin weather.
Art Munin, associate vice chancellor and dean of students at UW Oshkosh, said Scott advised a “phenomenal” event from start to finish.
“It was a fantastic opportunity for all who attended, but especially for our students who were able to take advantage of this educational experience on their very own campus,” he said.
Late night duty
“It was such a pleasure working with Nate to plan the 2019 Region III Student Lead On,” said Katie Knight of Indiana State University, who served as student conference coordinator. “Throughout the planning process, Nate kept his focus on the ‘student-led’ aspect of the conference and empowered the student planning committee to make decisions and execute the conference.”
Knight recalled that the conference was nearly canceled due to extreme Polar Vortex weather and that Scott was shoveling snow at midnight in negative temperatures to keep the event on track.
“His fun and energetic leadership made for a wonderful experience for myself, the committee and the Region III students and professionals who attended the conference,” Knight added. “Region III is lucky to have professionals like Nate who have a desire to lead students.”
The WIRSA Service Award is presented annually to one professional from an in-state institution in recognition of outstanding service at the state level, regionally or nationally.
Award winners are nominated by their peers, with the WIRSA Executive Board making the decision on the winner.
“It is an honor to receive this award, however the credit truly belongs to a large group of individuals who worked together to overcome extraordinary circumstances,” Scott said, adding that the Gruenhagen Conference Center staff, the student conference coordinator and planning committee as well as many others on the UWO campus played significant roles in pulling off the mid-winter conference.
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