Welcome to the Director Download, powered by Campus Rec Magazine.
It’s time to go behind the curtain of the director role and have honest discussions with leaders in the campus recreation industry.
In this episode, host Grady Sheffield, the director of Campus Recreation at Towson University and the senior advisor to Campus Rec Magazine, gives you the listener real and authentic conversation between himself and special guest D.J. Preston, the director of Student Recreation and Wellness at Radford University.
Preston shares how an injury while playing football eventually led him to campus rec and the career he now pursues. He speaks on his time at Texas State, how he came to see campus rec as a career and a call that he got from Ali Cross that changed his life.
He also shares on moving from a sports club coordinator to a senior associate director, and how he became a director after applying for it again, having turned down the job offer the first time.
Sheffield also has Preston discuss leading through culture change, avoiding burnout and the biggest surprise of being a director.
Here’s their conversation.
Show Notes from the Conversation with D.J. Preston
- Preston breaks down Radford at 2:01.
- A bear is still a bear — here’s what it has to do with his undergrad at 2:59.
- While sitting on a bus, Preston learned about campus rec. Listen to how this happened at 4:46.
- He shares on being at Texas State at 5:32.
- What made Preston see that he could make campus rec a career at 7:52.
- Why he took a pivot from campus rec for a bit at 9:56.
- A call that he got from Ali Cross that changed his life at 11:31.
- How he went from a sports club coordinator to a senior associate director at 12:44.
- The road to director looked like this at 16:02.
- Why it was good when he didn’t take the director role the first time at 17:15.
- How his athletic background has impacted his leadership at 20:12.
- What makes Preston thrive as a director at 21:29.
- Leading through culture change has been a challenge, and here’s why at 23:49.
- Avoiding burnout looks like this for Preston at 25:45.
- Listen at 27:25 to find out the biggest surprise of being director, in Preston’s opinion.
- What’s next for him? Find out at 29:09.
Loving the Director Download? Then don’t miss an episode by subscribing here.
