RPLS Alumni and Friends Newsletter | May 2025
Letter from the Chair
Greetings from Highland North! May is always a unique time for us in RPLS. We find ourselves submerged in bittersweetness… making sense of the feelings associated with a school year ending and a summer season beginning. Conclusions and introductions in abundance. These dueling moments provide the chance to reflect on where we have been and where we are going.
This year has been one filled with necessary introspection. Significant changes to higher education are forcing dramatic changes to the academic landscape, and MSU has not been spared. Programs have been challenged to argue for their continued existence. In many ways this mirrors the tone in many of our public parks and recreation agencies… having to prove why our field matters.
When we asked ourselves that question, the answer we found was something that can be easy to lose sight of: Parks and Recreation is essential. Not merely helpful, or valuable, or important. Essential.
Yes, we lower health care costs. Yes, we enhance property values. Yes, we increase biodiversity. Yes, we extend life spans and increase quality of life. And yes, we are the thing that connects people so much so that they cease to be merely individuals, and they become a Community.
During challenging times, I recall the words of Teddy Roosevelt: “Since play is a fundamental need, playgrounds should be provided for every child as much as schools.” As inspirational figures go, there are plenty of folks I turn to before our 26th President. Indeed, Roosevelt was much less a philosopher and more much a pragmatist. However, under difficult circumstances, it is that clear, rational thinking that is so important. Parks and Recreation is not romantic or idealistic… it is necessary.
As we reflect back on our steps and look forward to charting a new course, let’s remember that.
Leisurely yours,
Jonathan
News and Notes
Save the Date for RPLS Day 2025 | Friday, September 26
As promised, we are excited to announce the 4th Annual RPLS Day will take place on Friday, September 26! The shift from spring to autumn also coincides with MSU Homecoming festivities so there will be plenty to do regardless of where you graduated from. This year we will feature additional award categories and a revamped program. More news will follow this summer, however if you would like to be involved in planning, please reach out to Jonathan via email. Sponsorship packages are also available, so please spread the word.
Introducing the Tourism and Event Management Certificate
We are excited to introduce the Tourism and Event Management Certificate! Developed over nearly three years, our new certificate was created to support current practitioners and encourage current students in their professional pursuits. The TEM Cert can be completed online or in person in as little as a year… and credit for previous experience may be available!
Congratulations to our very own Dr. Brooke Burk on the great interview she did on the LeisureSociety podcast. Give it a listen here!
Spring 2025 Commencement
Congratulations to the RPLS Class of 2025 for donning their caps and gowns on May 10 in the Taylor Center. This annual tradition is among the most anticipated on our calendar and our faculty is incredibly proud of all of our students. Moreover, we are grateful to their families for trusting us with their kids. Thanks for letting us be a part of your journey.
Alumni in the News
Tom Bolin (RPLS Class of 1990) has been busy since joining the Prairie Lakes Ice Arena in Watertown, SD last November. Tom spent the previous 22 years of his career in Minnesota, and was compelled to South Dakota by the opportunity to oversee the planning, coordination, and execution of all ice arena activities. Most recently his challenges have involved ensuring the long-term sustainability of the facility in response to significant increases in users.
Nick Baum (RPLS Class of 2018) was recently celebrated in the Park Rapids Enterprise in an awesome “Day in the life of a conservation officer” feature article. Nick, who has served the Park Rapids area for the Minnesota DNR since 2021, has also been busy in his role as an Army Medic in the Minnesota National Guard Aviation Brigade. Nick has been heavily involved in keeping people safe during the recent Camp House fire, a challenge he spoke about during a May 13 interview.
Senior Spotlight
Dawson Basavage
Hometown: Champlin, MN
Academic achievements: I earned a 3.6 GPA during my RPLS experience and recently walked across the commencement stage Magna Cum Laude. Additionally, I served as the Lead consultant for the Background Analysis and Future Considerations Committee of the Mni Wašté Park Plan, which we our RPLS 481 class presented to the City of Mankato during the Fall 2024 semester.
Extracurricular activities: I am the creator of multiple interpretive programs for the USACE Cross Lake Recreation area, including "All About Birds," which included the construction of take-home birdhouses and was designed to educate people about local birds. Another program was called "Swimming Superheroes," which was created to educate children on water safety while participants build lifejackets for action figures.
Career goals: In my career, I hope to be a steward of the Earth by helping others find meaning in it beyond its material applications.
Advice for future students: My advice for future students is to try scared and fail often. You will hear it a lot as a new student, but there is so much more to gain than if you never try.
What RPLS Means to Me
Kalyn Maurer, RPLS Class of 2025
The Recreation and Parks Leadership Studies program at Mankato State University is a special little world. I have never met a group of people so compelled by the same convictions. The program itself has much to boast about, being the only accredited program in the state, having two emphases, a multitude of classes - and yet none of that is what drew me in. I came to MNSU with the express purpose of pursuing a Recreation and Parks Leadership Studies degree. I knew vaguely where I wanted to end up after college, in a Nature Center or somewhere outside. What I really craved was work that felt important to me, a calling or a vocation of some kind. In RPLS I felt that calling and, like a chill breeze in the early morning, it opened my eyes a little wider and offered me some direction.
The faculty and students in the program have a clear and unwavering passion for leisure, recreation, and the natural world, but what holds the program and the industry together is really a shared love for people. The desire for all humans to be capable of flourishing, of experiencing and engaging with the world around them. That is what we aim to do, to provide opportunities for the people in our communities to find enjoyment. What could this be, if not love? To find myself in a classroom with others who shared this sentiment and then to be given the tools to carry out that mission feels like the core of what RPLS is all about. Through RPLS I found a sense of agency, a solid path where I could keep my footing and follow that calling wherever it takes me.
The body of RPLS students is unlike any other group of people I have ever met. In the face of adversity, they band together, steadfast and determined. The community around RPLS extends far beyond the classroom walls, or even state lines. I have made the most wonderful friends and found a network of people who can rely on each other. Being welcomed into this community has brightened my world in so many ways, and I know that it has done the same for so many of us.
RPLS is a reputable program; it is a degree and a respectable career path. It is also a community of people, a vocation to share the world with others, an unending respect for the natural world and understanding how we exist within it. It is the tools I use to pursue what I believe is important in the world. RPLS is a lot of things, and it means everything to me.
Let's Reconnect!
We want to hear from you! Tell us about your recent achievements, job announcements, funny stories… or anything else! Please email Jonathan.hicks@mnsu.edu and help us stay connected.
