Getting to Know You: Erica Chandler
Erica Chandler – Sport Management Graduate Student
What sports did you play when you were younger?
Erica played basketball, softball, and soccer growing up. However, she stopped playing soccer in high school due to the demand of the sport. She played high school softball and basketball, playing on the varsity team for all four years. Because she enjoyed playing softball so much, she decided to play college softball for one year at a community college in Washington. However, after the one year she decided to pursue her future in earning her Bachelor’s degree at Washington State University. For the last four years, Erica has played on the Women’s Rugby Club Team for Washington State.
When did you start in Campus Recreation?
After applying and getting accepted to Washington State in 2014, Erica applied to work at University Recreation. In the Fall of 2014, she got her first job as an intramural official. This job included officiating a variety of intramural games, like football and soccer. After having this position for one year, she then got promoted as a lead official during her junior year of college. Soon after, Erica applied to move further up in intramurals, and received the job as an Intramural Supervisor. She held this position for three years before applying to be a graduate assistant at Washington State.
What is your position at UREC?
In 2017, Erica received the position as the Graduate Assistant of Shared Facilities. With this position, she oversees all facilities that are not the Student Recreation Center or Chinook Center. These facilities include: Valley road Playfield, Physical Education Building, Smith Building, Bohler Building, The Fieldhouse, South Fairway, Rodgers Playing Field, and Grimes Way Field. In addition, she oversees about 15 employees of UREC. These employees are IM officials for the Shared Facilities of the University Recreation.
What made you chose WSU?
After playing softball and attending a community college for one year, Erica decided to pursue her future by earning her Bachelor’s Degree. Once she got accepted to Washington State University, she heard and was interested in Kinesiology. Because she has always been active and fascinated by the human body, she decided this degree was most relevant to her future. In addition to getting her major in Kinesiology, she decided to minor in Sport Management, as both of these degrees went hand in hand with each other. She stated that while she enjoyed learning about the human body in her kinesiology classes, she thought the classes and material through Sport Management were relevant to Campus Recreation. Once she applied and received the position as the Graduate Assistant of Shared Facilities, she decided to continue her education in Sport Management to earn her Master’s Degree.
What made you choose to get your degree in Sport Management?
As mentioned above, Erica decided to earn her Master’s Degree in Sport Management as the information she learned from taking classes as an undergraduate were more relevant to her future in Campus Recreation. Most graduate assistants at Washington State receive their Master’s in Sport Management, and Erica realized how important the information offered through these classes were for her future.
How does a degree in Sport Management help you in UREC?
After taking most classes in Sport Management for her Master’s degree, Erica stated that all of the core classes for her degree directly relate to her job at the University Recreation. Specifically, she mentioned about the information and knowledge she gained by taking the marketing and administration courses during her first year. “University Recreation is not only a place for fitness, but to promote health and wellness, both inside and outside of the Recreation Center”. With marketing, she stated how she learned how to increase the demand of specific goods and items at UREC. In addition, as she is taking Sport Communication right now, she is learning how to appeal to her stake holders, learn what they want, and try to produce it through communication skills.
What are your future goals and do they relate to Sport Management?
After earning her Master’s Degree and graduating in the Spring of 2020, Erica wants to continue her career in Campus Recreation. While she is open to other positions offered through Campus Recreation, she has enjoyed her job through shared facilities and managing this department of Campus Recreation. Once she graduates, she plans to apply for coordinator positions, and through the years build up and grow in Campus Recreation to Assistant Director and even Director. As mentioned above, after completing her Master’s Degree in Sport Management, Erica stated that all of the information gained through her last two years will be applicable to her future in this field. Knowing how to communicate to her stakeholders, how to market to the public to gain publicity and more people to enter the facility, and how to actually manage a department related to sport will all help her grow and become successful in Campus Recreation.
Favorites:
Sport: Rugby
Professor: Tammy Crawford
Class: Leadership in Sport
Pullman Restaurant: The Coug