Learn more about earning your online Master’s in Athletic Administration from Ohio University.
Transcript
Hi everybody. My name is Nancy Beers and I live in Beavercreek, Ohio.
I’ve done a lot of different jobs within the school districts from being a teacher, to a guidance counsellor, to guidance director, to a gifted and talented supervisor. Now I’m currently an Assistant Principal at one school district called Yellow Springs. I’m Middle School and high school Assistant Principal for grade 7 through 12, and in a different school district I am the middle school Athletic Director for all of Beavercreek City School District Middle School.
We have two middle schools approximately 2,000 … a little over 2,000 students in those schools. I’m currently managing eight sports. We just finished football, volley ball and cross country, and I’m going into wrestling and basketball season. So I’ll have eight basketball teams and two wrestling teams going here shortly. This was right in between my seasons so that’s why I was able to do this this evening.
For me it’s important to learn experientially so actually having a job as an athletic director and doing the course work at the same time has been very good because the theory and the basis for practice behind it helps bring it all together and makes a lot of sense to me. Like I said, I’m doing the job but also learning the best practice behind why I’m doing certain things that I’m doing in my current position.
I wanted to take the OU program because I wanted to have the credentials from a nationally respected program. I think it was the first program perhaps. You only hear good things about the Ohio University program.
The personal relationships that I’ve created with my cohort group are second to none. My whole group is very close to each other and that was just enhanced even more by us getting to meet each other on campus at Ohio University in June. That was not only a good learning experience but it was very much fun as well. When you get into your cohort group and you have an opportunity to go to campus don’t miss that opportunity because not only did I create networks and lasting friendships with my classmates but also with the facilitators in the program, the program managers as well and so on that I think that we can help each other throughout the rest of our careers, so that’s a very good part of the program.
Like I said I’m learning the best practice and the pieces that need to be in place to run a quality athletic program are very important. I have really enjoyed the Human Resource Management course because I already hire and evaluate coaches and actually evaluate people out of the program and so on and so it’s nice to know the background of that course.
Management and leadership; if I say it’s good metacognition about what kind of leader I am that does make you self-reflect quite a bit and figure out how to be a better leader, and what your style is, and maybe how to incorporate some other styles.
The administration class; with learning about the proper use of handbooks, and procedures, and things in the office that need to happen to make a quality program and that’s been very important.
Right now I’m in the legal foundations of risk management class and that has really made me think a lot about the risk management of all these topics as far as athletic skills but also it’s helped me in my assistant principal role this year due process. I’m just reading the case studies is very interesting.
I have really enjoyed the program. Yes, it keeps me very busy. As you can see I’m a busy person anyway but all of it is melding together and it’s making me a better athletic director and that’s the purpose of me getting this degree.