MRPA in Action

MRPA Mentorship Program

The MRPA Mentorship Program, sponsored by the MRPA Young Professional and Student Network, was formed to help park and recreation students and professionals grow professionally in the field through meaningful connections. The program enables students and career professionals to be paired with an experienced or distinguished professional for an experience that will last a lifetime. The mentorship program committee reviewed 40 applications and were able to produce 20 pairs for the program’s first year in 2021. In 2022, the mentorship program committee was able to produce 24 pairs for the program’s second year. The mentors and mentees had their first virtual meeting on January 21, 2022 after the MRPA Annual General Meeting. MRPA extends a special thank you to mentorship committee members John Stutzman, Meredith Lawrence, Jenna Smith, and Jessica Christensen Buck.

SOMEONE YOU SHOULD KNOW: JESSICA CHRISTENSEN BUCK

Jessica Christensen Buck became interested in parks and recreation during college. “I went with someone to a majors fair when I attended Minnesota State University Mankato (MSU),” says Christensen Buck. “That’s where I met Kristi Montandon and she told me about the possibilities a career in parks and recreation could include.” She adds, “The recreation, parks and leisure services program at MSU requires an internship for graduation and I completed mine with the City of Bloomington. Following that, I stayed on staff with the City of Bloomington part-time, as well as joining the cities of Golden Valley, Richfield, Plymouth, and Corcoran before my position with Corcoran went full-time. I’ve been the recreation coordinator with Corcoran full-time since February of 2020.” Christensen Buck has been a member of MRPA since 2015 and has attended the annual conference for the past six years. She states, “For three of those years, I volunteered at the conference in a variety of roles. In 2017, I was on the Minnesota Recreation and Park Foundation silent auction and raffle committee member. This past conference, I served as the co-chair for the virtual support committee. In 2021, I was the chair-elect for Young Professional and Student Network (YPSN) and will become the chair for 2022. Beginning in 2022, I’ll be on the Board of Trustees for the Foundation.” According to Christensen Buck, MRPA provides so many opportunities to connect with others that are in the field and learn from their experiences. “MRPA makes connecting and reaching out to others in the field that much easier,” she adds. “The opportunities to continue to grow are constantly within reach between the conference, networks, and various seminars throughout the year. Parks and recreation as a whole, provides similar opportunities for those participating and engaging in the activities – they provide people the opportunity to learn, grow, and socialize – it comes full circle!”

MRPA members are the heart of our organization. They are involved and committed to advancing the parks and recreation programming. MRPA in Action is a new magazine feature which will highlight one section/committee and one professional per issue.