The Michigan Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance is better known as MAHPERD. They are hosting their annual meeting on November 15-17, 2012 at the Grand Traverse Resort in beautiful northern Michigan and I have the pleasure of presenting there this year. Events like this provide such a valuable opportunity to network and connect with others in the region in a professional, yet relaxed atmosphere.
I always try to promote local and regional conferences because I feel they are very valuable. I especially encourage students and new professionals to attend these types of events because they aren’t as overwhelming as larger/national conferences are, and they provide great access to the presenters who are much more available than at the national conference level. As I have mentioned in my piece “Networking (With Actual People)“, networking at events like this are much less intimidating. Meeting or approaching new people doesn’t come easy to some, but it is such a vital piece of professional development. Conferences like MAHPERD also cost much less both in terms of the rate of the registration, but also in terms of the travel to get there. State and regional events are usually accessible by car.
My presentation, titled “Calling All Future Professionals” will be geared towards undergraduate students who are pursuing degrees in health, recreation, dance, and physical education. I plan to spend my time educating them on the various types of jobs and employment settings that are available in the workplace. I also plan to provide an overview on professional memberships and professional certifications. This always seems to be hard for people to decide which is best because there are so many out there. Figuring out which is best is not easy. The last part of my presentation will focus on graduate school and graduate assistantships. I always like to plant the seed of continued education, beyond the undergraduate level. It might not be for everyone, especially not right way.
I look forward to MAHPERD in November and hope to maybe see some of you there.!
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