The Final Exam is your chance to get advice and insights from experts in the industry. For the March/April 2021 issue, Campus Rec spoke with Cindy Wright, the director of EES Student Success and Well-being, at Gettysburg College.
1. How did you get started in the industry?
Cindy Wright: I started working for one of my mentors, Don Nichter, who was the director of Campus Recreation at Dickinson College. That was the year I first joined NIRSA — September 1, 1988.
2. How would you go about describing campus recreation at Gettysburg College?
CW: Our tagline is “Campus Recreation: Well-being for life!” We continually promote healthy life-style choices and social interactions in an environment that values, embraces and enriches individual differences. We are striving to teach our students how to become advocates for their own well-being.
3. What has been one of the biggest challenges you have faced throughout your career?
CW: Honestly, dealing with COVID has been by far the most challenging situation I have ever had to manage in my tenured career. Everyone in our industry has had to pivot on a daily basis, ensuring the health and well-being of our community.
4. What has been one of the biggest accomplishments of your career?
CW: It was being ranked by alumni as one of the top five current employees impacting the overall student experience.
5. What is one lesson you have learned that other recreation professionals might benefit from?
CW: I found these four agreements from reading “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom” by Don Miguel Ruiz, and I think about them daily.
The Four Agreements are as follows:
- Be Impeccable with Your Word.
- Don’t Take Anything Personally.
- Don’t Make Assumptions.
- Always Do Your Best.
6. What is one fun fact about yourself others may not know?
CW: My husband and I have a goal of running half marathons in all 50 states. Before COVID-19, we only had seven states left. We’ll finish this goal once we get COVID under control.
