Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Miranda Buiter is one of three students nationally to serve on the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) Assembly. Buiter is among the fifth cohort in SIUE’s College Student Personnel Administration (CSPA) program through the Department of Educational Leadership.“This is a unique opportunity to work with peers and colleagues who are passionate about campus recreation,” Buiter said. “Our leadership team’s main focus is on research and development for the greater organization, so that we can give back to the community and build our programs into something greater for our students.”
“Miranda’s recent professional success is reflective of her drive to further the profession of student affairs and the functional area of college recreation,” said Pietro Sasso, PhD, CSPA program director “She has a strong personal orientation toward service to the profession and is definitively a leader as an emerging professional.”
The NIRSA Assembly is a forward-thinking leadership group that focuses on the hot topics impacting the collegiate recreation profession currently and in the future. Comprised of NIRSA professional and student members, as well as non-NIRSA members, the assembly is an important mechanism for creating new ideas and shaping the future of collegiate recreation on NIRSA member campuses and beyond. Whether they are examining how to articulate the value of campus recreation or exploring collaborative relationships within higher education and the recreation industry, assembly members vet concepts in highly participatory idea exchanges, and desire to be catalysts for action and results.
Buiter will contribute her personal experience to the research team and offer a different perspective as to how campus recreation can be a vital resource for colleges and universities. “Having this opportunity to give back to the industry by devoting my time and resources to research and recognition of current and future issues will help institutions nationally.”
Each assembly member is selected for their unique perspective, experiences and passion for the profession. As a member of the assembly, they have a chance to bring topics forward for consideration deemed relevant to the future of collegiate recreation. They actively research ways that institutions across the membership have been successful in approaching issues, and finding ways to provide findings to the membership. The assembly shares its findings by developing panels or educational sessions at the NIRSA Annual Conference & Campus Rec and Wellness Expo, NIRSA regional conferences, creating a resource guide, disseminating NIRSA news articles, and facilitating discussion with members through open online connections and communities.
“Miranda is an extraordinary young professional,” said Natalie Hawkins, assistant director of SIUE Campus Recreation. “In her involvement in the Campus Recreation department, she works as the aquatics graduate assistant, gaining personal hands-on experience that will prepare her for a career. She has demonstrated great management capability in leading and developing aquatic special events and student-centered programs. Her greatest attribute is her ability to collaborate with campus partners in Student Affairs to assist with the promotion of Campus Recreation programs and services to our students.”
A northwest Indiana native, Buiter’s career goal is to own an aquatics program and create institutes for educating others for aquatics programs worldwide. She earned a bachelor’s in sports management with a minor in business administration from Valparaiso University before joining SIUE.
The University of Houston’s Claudia Cooper and The Ohio State University’s Karen David join Buiter on the council.
Photo: Miranda Buiter, SIUE Campus Recreation graduate assistant.