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• Aquatics
• Club Sports
• Group Fitness
• Intramural Activities
• Personal Training
• Adventure Recreation
• Ice Skating
• Special Events

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Staff Interviews

ONE-on-ONE with

Robyn Deterding

Position: Associate Director

Education: BS Horticulture, SIU-C; MS Recreation and Student Personnel Management, SIU-C

What was your first recreation job?
I worked at a maximum-security prison in Chester, IL. I did gardening and other activities with the prisoners. They could grow plants and take them back to their cells. We had a small indoor garden and a large outdoor garden. I was there for two years, but it was a really sad environment to work in. After the position with the prison I was offered a job at a private tennis and racquetball club. I did programming with tennis and racquetball. We also did some fitness. However, the club soon folded and I chose to attend graduate school. At Southern Illinois University I got hired by the campus recreation department to be a graduate assistant and worked in four different areas in my three years there. I worked in programming, outdoors, facilities, and aquatics. I'm not shy about trying new things and new challenges.

How long have you been at Campus Rec?
I have been here 17 years. I started in 1984 after I completed graduate school.

Tell me about your experience at Campus Rec.
I started as the Assistant Director for Intramurals and did womens' and co-rec intramurals. Then in 1986 I became the Assistant Director for Sports Clubs and Special Events. In 1990, I became the Assistant Director for the Ice Arena and did that until 1995. In 1994, I took on an additional position as Associate Director for Human Resources. This has recently transitioned into Associate Director for Programming.

What is your favorite thing about working at Campus Rec?
The students are my favorite because they're so much fun and I love watching them grow and evolve. They keep me young. The hard part is that I have to watch them leave. But some of them have become life-long friends.

What is the thing you are most proud of accomplishing professionally?
When I moved to the Ice Arena, it was in very serious financial straits. The building was not very nice looking and it was basically a hockey facility. Tony challenged us to draft a plan to turn the Ice Arena around. I had three graduate staff members and the four of us sat down and brainstormed and drafted a plan that turned the place inside out. In the first year we went from a $30,000 deficit to $18,000 profit. We went from being primarily a hockey facility to offering open skate, an annual ice show, camps, etc. It was a huge group effort from the entire staff. I have a lot of pride in the staff that made it happen. The Ice Arena changed from a six-month facility to a year-round facility.

What is the most challenging aspect of your position?
Dealing with all of the things from the Human Resources aspect; sometimes it's hard to know what to do. Being the answer person and getting issues resolved can be a real challenge, especially when some of your decisions are things that will affect the entire staff.

What are your future professional goals?
Sometimes I aspire to be a director and then I realize that I'm really happy with what I do right now. This position is the most chameleon-like. I really get to wear a lot of different hats; Tony is pretty flexible with that because he knows I will get things done. This has offered me the opportunity to try new things like our new leadership development program. I have realized that I don't know how much control I have over things. You never know what opportunity is going to come your way.

What is your personal fitness philosophy?
I grew up in a very active family; my grandmother is 89 and still plays golf. It has always been a part of my life, my fabric. Sometimes I use it as a stress relief or a bonding opportunity. It is always a health issue; I believe if you don't use it you lose it. I plan on being my 89-year old grandmother and hitting a hole in one at least once a year. It keeps you moving, keeps you young, plus that way I can eat anything I want.