San Diego State University College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts

Recreation Student Ready for Leadership

Recreation Student Ready for Leadership

Matthew Foster

April 26, 2017

As a part of his responsibilities as a program assistant at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar’s Youth and Teen Center, Matthew Foster works from 5:45 a.m. until 8:15 a.m. He takes classes at SDSU between at 9:30 a.m., and noon, returns to Miramar to work from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m., and is back on campus by 6:30 p.m. for night classes.

In addition, his grades qualified him for honor roll each semester, was recognized as employee of the year, and obtained his Wilderness First Aid certification.

As a Recreation and Tourism Management major, he embraced many academic opportunities, including a 32-mile Colorado River canoeing expedition through the Chocolate Mountains led by Aztec Adventures.

“I used to camp a lot when I was younger and it brought me back to realize how much I love the challenge of accomplishing goals,” said Foster.

Foster’s current goal is to obtain a managerial or supervisory position upon graduation. Citing the value of his education, Foster credits his major as preparing him for a position of leadership, especially because of the number of group projects he completed.

 “What I enjoyed the most during class were guest speakers because hearing their stories or even my professor’s personal experiences really put things into perspective,” said Foster. “Talking and listening to my professors about the things that they do and all the knowledge I gained from them was all one big ‘ah-ha’ moment. Those conversations are priceless.”

The content within this article has been edited by Lizbeth Persons.

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