The Recreation Center Supervisor : How Will You Know When You Have Reached Success?

Obesity continues to be a problem in the United States. With obesity rates on the rise something must be done to prevent this massive issue. Seventeen percent of children and adolescents about 12.5 million are obese (Diet). Obesity is the result of a rise in fat that accumulated over time due to the lack of exercise and having a calorie surplus due to unhealthy food. An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than 30% is considered to be obese (Obesity). There isn’t a direct focus on obesity, because people don’t think it’s an important issue. To ensure a better future, solution is needed now. The solution to ending the obesity epidemic by encouraging a healthier lifestyle on children at young ages, improving nutrition at schools and restaurants, as well as providing more time and space for citizens to get physically active.

It is important to educate our society on ways to decrease the rate of obesity nationwide. Some

The purpose of this letter is to express my interest in the Employment Supports Coordinator position currently open in the Maryland Employment department. I presently fulfill the role of the Day Program Lead at the Maryland Day Program. My supervisor is Janae Householder, Day Program Coordinator.

This position has allowed me to become well versed in university and housing policy and I am well trained in how to perform not only the administrative tasks required by this position, but also how to handle conduct reporting and sensitive situations regarding students. Due to my experience as a Community Assistant, I am confident in my abilities to perform the duties that the office of Conferences & Event Services will require of me, if selected for this position. Upon first transferring to Clarion, I took a job with the Center for Leadership and Development as the Student Leadership Coordinator for Clarion University. During my time in this position I developed leadership programming for Clarion University and coordinated and planned events such as the Mary Walter Speaker Series. During my time working with the Mary Walter Speaker Series, we focused on mental health and the dispelling of mental health stigmas.

America is facing a growing danger that has been gradually taking more and more years off of the life expectancy of its citizens. Obesity has been a growing issue throughout the United States over the last few decades and is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the country. This health issue, particularly childhood obesity, is definitely a health equity issue that needs to be addressed. Being overweight stems from and creates its own complexities that undoubtedly affect the determinants of health. There are two main angles public health can attack this issue from; developing a healthy public policy and developing personal skills with regards to health.

I work to develop strong relationships with the students that I supervising offering them support yet challenging them to grow and learn as professionals. I pride myself on developing staff members and holding them to a high level of accountability. Supervision is a skill that I excel at. Not only do I have a strong background in working with students, I also am a strong programmer and event planner. I have planned may small scale and large scale programs. I am currently the conference co-chair for the Wisconsin College Personnel Association and have worked in this role for the past two years planning the fall

Facilitated activities for the California Department of Health Services, Prevention and Nutrition Section: Champions for Change. As a community leader, I was in charge of delivering Champion for Change nutrition education information. I participated in several events such as the Fruits and Veggie Fest and grocery store demos. During both events, I was able to reach out to both English and Spanish speaking community members and share Champion for Change recipes and promote the consumption of fruits and vegetables and a healthier lifestyle. I interacted with kids by playing nutrition related games and shared with parents tips and information packets from the Champions for Change material.

One of the solutions health departments should do for obesity is have healthier food choices for schools.

Assist in organizing events with the Alumni Relations department. Collaborating with sponsoring companies for the Martin Luther King Breakfast which consisted Nicor and College of

4. Child Obesity: we help families adopt healthy life styles through training towards the adoption of a balanced diet and the incorporation of physical activity. We help schools rethink their approach to feeding students.

Learning the value of hard work can be achieved through camp activities that can give back to the community, such as projects that encourage the protection of the environment and healthy eating. Some of these projects could include kids planting vegetable gardens, picking up trash along playgrounds and trails, and even planting trees, all which are outdoor activities that children love. A local garden filled with kid planted vegetables and trees would be a wonderful way to brighten the children of this community and teach them more of the environment and a healthier lifestyle all while having fun at the same time. This is especially crucial in the Yakima county as according to the Washington State Department of Health, Yakima county was the 3rd highest in the state with 34% of the population being overweight or obese. This is a very important issue to tackle, and providing a camp program with numerous ways of encouraging physical activity and expanding children knowledge on a healthier lifestyle is a wonderful way to create a greater impact for the

Numerous obesity researches and health experts believe that the most successful way to reduce obesity is to build up efforts to avoid overweight and obesity among kids, adolescents, and adults. The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, (2001, http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/ CalltoAction.pdf) calls for:

Obesity does not have an easy or simple fix. A complex issue “that takes an army” to prevent. Individuals and groups such as policy makers, state and local organizations, business and community leaders, school, childcare and healthcare professionals must work together on this issue. A healthy lifestyle must include a healthy or nutritious diet and adequate physical activity or exercise. The nursing action plan for this paper is obesity rates will decrease by 10% over the next 5 years.

Starting the practicum I was apprehensive about how I would progress in the duties assigned to me. There are 12 students that attend the program at Every Woman Works; and when I was given the duty to be a Job Coach this was a different role that I have never experience before. Therefore, I was given the choice to select the students I wanted to work with. Each Job Coach was given coaching guidelines to follow and we had to meet with each student weekly and document their progress.

Describe your past and current experiences of leadership, whether in counseling, administration, teaching, ministry, coaching, or learning. How have these experiences contributed to your decisions to apply for this program?