Recreation [, Service,] and Tourism Management

CU Faculty Member Dr. Susan Martin-Williams shares about how the RTM department is taking the lead on incorporating service throughout the academic program, and she is challenging the University to find ways to make service more meaningful.

What would a recreation and tourism management (RTM) program be without getting outside of the classroom every once in a while? But for Dr. Susan Martin-Williams and the RTM department, getting their students involved with opportunities outside of the classroom has given more than just personal enjoyment to the students. It has enhanced their learning, confidence, and careers. “In general, the RTM department has agreed on a philosophy that the more hands-on we can have our classes and classroom experiences the more students will learn,” said Dr. Williams. “Some of that leads over into what I believe are some wonderful community service projects.”

Thus, the assignments in some of her classes have ranged from conducting and presenting research to the citizens of Hinton on their town’s tourism potential and challenges, educating children and youth about management of natural resources for the National Park Service, participating in area clean-ups, and experiencing life as a Concord University student using a wheelchair.

In addition, her future assignments will include having community leaders share on how to manage volunteers and an international experience working to attract visitors to a castle in Russia.



Through many of these experiences, the students have learned—well, just how much they have really learned, and they have grown in confidence.

“I have taken students out into various communities so that they can do tourism assessment projects, and it’s a really great learning experience for the students because very often students don’t realize the knowledge that they’ve acquired while at school,” said Dr. Williams.

“In these situations, they actually get to become the consultant or educator,” she added.

In addition, students have learned through these experiences how to respond to a diversity of needs and to become well-rounded citizens.

Through a class on inclusive services, students experience the struggles that people using wheelchairs experience daily. Dr. Williams said that she has seen her students have trouble getting through doors on campus and finding a place to take notes in class.

“I believe that makes them better citizens all the way around,” Dr. Williams said.

In addition, Dr. Williams feels that the inclusive services project gives the students an experience they wouldn’t otherwise have.

“That’s not something we would do voluntarily, so it’s good to have that classroom experience in that capacity as well,” she said.

Dr. Williams is also tapping into regional service efforts to make students more comfortable with
incorporating and facilitating service into their jobs after graduation.

Teaming up with the social work department in the development of a course, Dr. Williams is co-teaching a volunteer management mini-course in the spring semester. The course will take students to Elkins, West Virginia to learn hands-on from local community developers, AmeriCorps members, and Concord University faculty.

While volunteer management is the main topic of the course, students are also expected to learn why volunteering is vital to the success of their career
goals.

“Students are going to go up to Elkins and hear what the community issues are, and obviously, they’re far more than just the tourism. There are social capital issues and other issue that plague traditional community life,” Dr. Williams said.

Through the course and other service-learning experiences, Dr. Williams hopes that students will have a rise in motivation and increase their leadership skills.

“I think that students will be empowered to come back and be better community leaders wherever they end up after graduating,” she said.

Another reason that service learning in recreation and tourism management is important to Dr. Williams is because of what is at stake alongside her students’ education.

“Over the years, the public lands have gotten into really bad shape…however,
increasingly in the United States, volunteerism has been the answer,” she said.

However, for Dr. Williams service learning shouldn’t just be anything. She indicated that she wonders sometimes if the service experiences that students are engaged in now are effectively introducing students to service through their careers.

“As we’ve looked at all that Concord has to offer, and the various campus
organizations who really do focus on community service, I think there can be
an opportunity to tailor their service hours to fit their degree requirements or
degree interests.”

Williams has said that she has seen recent graduates who have looked back on their Concord years wishing they had more service experience that was tied to their degree studies and career goals, not only sporadic volunteering.

“If we can unite Concord’s forces, so that we can really offer a greater impact for our students hours and efforts, I think that that would be an admirable goal for everybody,” she concluded.