Banquet Program2

The Department of
Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences
Howdy!
April 19, 2018
Hildebrand Equine Center

Evening Program
Welcome..............................................................Mr. Cory Dentler
Introduction..........................................................Dr. Scott Shafer
Invocation.............................................................Dr. Lou Hodges
Dinner
Awards and Recognition
Undergraduate Introduction......................Ms. Madison Elliott
Undergraduate Scholarships.........................Mrs. Susan Scott
Graduate Introduction...........................Ms. Alexandra Skrocki
Graduate Scholarships......................................Dr. Jim Petrick
Induction of Rho Phi Lambda..................Dr. Jamie Rae Walker
Young Professional Award...........................Dr. Corliss Outley
Terry Hershey Award............................Dr. Jamie Rae Walker
Leslie M. Reid Award.......................................Dr. David Scott
Performance by the Lil' and Elite Wranglers
Closing Remarks.................................................Dr. Scott Shafer
Aggie War Hymn................................................RPTS 321 Team

About The Department
The Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism
Sciences was established in 1966, as a priority of
President James Earl Rudder. President Rudder
recruited Dr. Leslie M. Reid to serve as the founding
Department Head. In the years following, the
department has become recognized as one of the
top programs in Recreation, Park and Tourism
Sciences internationally.
The department offers baccalaureate, masters, and
doctoral degrees. It maintains innovative research
programs and provides leading extension programs
that meet research, training and consultation needs
throughout Texas and beyond. Academic programs
prepare students through study in six specialization
areas: tourism management, recreation and
park administration, youth development, parks and
conservation, event management, and hospitality
management. At present, approximately 400
students are studying in our undergraduate
programs and approximately 70 are studying for
graduate degrees.

2018 Undergraduate
Scholarship Recipients
Carlton Van Doren Scholarship
Andrea Wendling
Clara Wuest Heidemann Scholarship
Ashlyn McDaniel
Kathryn Moore
Heidemann Wuest Scholarship
Brian Rubin
Jana Wisenbaker Scholarship
Elliot Galey
Joyce Nies & Peter Witt Scholarship
Grace Donovan
Leslie M. Reid Scholarship
Jessica Hazel
Casandra Owens
Lon and Inger Garrison Scholarship
Alexandra Skrocki
Louis Hodges Scholarship
Hannah Bordovsky
Sarah Beth Clark

2018 Undergraduate
Scholarship Recipients
Sue Wittens ’72 Memorial Scholarship
Linda Co
Jordyn Cowan
Reya Martinez
Lacie Weilbacher
Royce Wisenbaker, Jr. Scholarship
Hans Brechbuhl
Madison Elliott
Branaun Galentine
Brandie Guice
Katie Markham
Carly Pappert
Sydney Pennington
David Pham
Emili Quintero
Christopher Richardson
Jameson Tischler
Kaylee Vogl

2018 Graduate
Scholarship Recipients
Bradberry Scholarship
Andrew Lacanienta
Maria Leon
Elizabeth B. Crompton Scholarship
Aurelia Gracia
Seobgyu “Aiden” Song
Gene Phillips Memorial Scholarship
Clark Connor
Amit Ghoshal
Julie Kircher
Lauren Redmore
Jake Hershey Scholarship
Jieun Song
John L. Crompton Scholarship
Songyi Kim
Trang Le
Quinn Lindford
Hyunmin “Tom” Yang
Joyce Nies and Peter Witt Scholarship
Robert Carlisle
Chad Nelson

2018 Graduate
Scholarship Recipients
Korean RPTS Alum Marguerite Van Dyke Scholarship
Sukjoon Yoon
Marguerite Van Dyke Graduate Scholarship
Seunghoon Lee
Robert B. Ditton Endowed Scholarship
John Friebele
Sequor Youth Development Scholarship
Rowan Cooper
Ji Won Nam
Chad Nelson
Hannah Sensenbrenner
Alex Sullins

2018 Rho Phi Lambda Inductees
Rho Phi Lambda is a national organization that recognizes
students and honorary professionals in our field for their
excellence in academics, co-curricular and volunteer
activities, and contributions to our field.
For membership in Rho Phi Lambda, a student must show
evidence of academic excellence in scholarship,
leadership, and service to campus or community.
Undergraduate Students
Hannah Bordovsky
Linda Co
Kelsey Coats
Cory Dentler
Ethan Dujay
Madison Elliott
Emily Gunderson
Rebekah James
Paige Keller
Jaejun Lee
Katie Markham
Mary Austin Morgan
Tory Newbold
David Pham
Alexandra Skrocki
Lacie Weilbacher
Graduate Students
Johanna Galloway
Kristianna Bowles
Rowan Cooper
Ariel Marlowe
Hannah Sensenbrenner
Evgenia Spears
Alex Sullins
Jeffrey Wahl

The Young Professional Award
This award recognizes an individual who has graduated
from our program in the past 10 years, has excelled in the
profession and exhibits a deep commitment to the field of
recreation, parks and tourism. The recipient is recognized
as having made a significant impact in the field in a
relatively short time as a professional.

The Young Professional Award Recipient
Ms. Lauren Reichstein
An unlikely outdoor lover, Lauren spent her childhood convinced that
everything outdoors would kill her and that life was best spent inside,
nose buried in a good book. Yet, after one fateful summer as a camp
counselor and a semester-long internship at Walt Disney World, she was
hooked. She switched her major to RPTS, completed several internships
and immediately after graduation applied to the Master’s program. As a
youth development graduate student, she studied with Dr. Corliss
Outley, focusing on bullying and the influence of recreational sex on
teenagers. During this time, she also worked with the Girl Scouts of San
Jacinto Council and was inducted as a member of Rho Phi Lambda.
Since graduating, Lauren has broadened her experience internationally
as a teacher with Disney English in China, worked with Keystone
Adventures as a guide in southern China and with Our Chalet as a
volunteer program assistant in Switzerland. Currently, Lauren is the
Camp Director at Camp Holloway at Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee in
Nashville. Camper sessions focus on desired outcomes of the Girl Scout
movement through innovative programming. Since accepting the position
in 2015, camper enrollment has increased by 30%, an accomplishment
Lauren credits to the skills she learned at Texas A&M.
Lauren continues to be inspired to grow her career in the camping
industry so that she can continue to mentor young women and
encourage her campers to take risks, be adventurous and gain
confidence. She believes that her unique position working with both staff
and Scouts allows her to focus on youth development at all levels and
that there is no better feeling than hearing a success story from a former
staff member, camper or student.

The Terry Hershey Award For
Excellence
Terry Hershey was a Texas lightning rod for parks and the
cause of conservation. Her list of achievements was
extraordinary. Beyond her commitment to funding student
scholarships in support of those studying for a
professional career in parks and conservation, she
provided numerous additional forms of support for our
students and faculty. She made sure our department and
students were engaged in the vital conservation activities
to which she was strongly committed. We benefitted
because of what she did for the Texas environment, and
we are deeply honored that Terry Hershey was our
friend.This award is given to a professional who has
dedicated a career to the values she embraced.

The Terry Hershey Award for
Excellence Recipient
Dr. Michal Anne Lord
Dr. Michal Anne Lord is the Executive Director of the Texas
Recreation and Park Society (TRAPS). She is a Certified Parks
and Recreation Professional and a state certified Therapeutic
Recreation Professional. Prior to becoming the Executive
Director of TRAPS, she taught for thirteen years at Texas State
University in the Department of Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance. Dr. Lord is a past member of the National
Recreation & Park Association (NRPA) Board of Trustees, is past
president of the National Therapeutic Recreation Society and the
Therapeutic Recreation Branch of TRAPS. She has served on
the Board of Directors of Special Olympics Texas; and has
chaired the National Advisory Council of Very Special Arts, an
educational affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts. Michal Anne has received the Fellow Award
from the Texas Recreation & Park Society and the TR
Professional of the Year Award from the TRAPS’ TR Branch; the
Fellow Award from the NRPA Southwest Regional Council, the
National Therapeutic Recreation Society’s, Distinguish Service
Award and is a member of the American Academy of Park and
Recreation Administration. For more than 30 years Dr. Lord has
worked to make recreation and parks accessible and meaningful
to all types of people.

The Leslie M. Reid Outstanding
Alumni Award
Dr. Leslie M. Reid was recruited to Texas A&M in 1966 by
President Earl Rudder to create our department. Dr. Reid
served as Department Head for 20 years elevating it from
a small unit with no visibility to one of the premier higher
education programs in recreation, parks and tourism in the
country. Based on his keen understanding of the value of
interdisciplinary perspectives he recruited faculty from
diverse disciplines. He actively promoted the department
at state and national levels, and built a strong financial
base for his successors. His impact on the quality of life of
people in all corners of the globe through his visionary
administrative leadership, commitment to excellence in
teaching, innovative research, and exemplary citizenship
is immense.

The Leslie M. Reid Outstanding
Alumni Recipient
Dr. Myron Floyd
Dr. Myron Floyd is Professor and Department Head in the
Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at North
Carolina State University. He is widely acknowledged as a leading
scholar in the area of ethnicity and outdoor recreation behavior. His
most recent research examines how public parks and other built
environment features contribute to physical activity and health in low
income communities of color. Funding for his research comes from
public and private granting agencies including the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, National Park Service, US Forest
Service, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. His research
appears widely in a variety of highly regarded scientific journals
including Leisure Sciences, American Journal of Preventive
Medicine, and Environment and Behavior. Dr. Floyd serves on the
Forestry Research Advisory Council which provides advice to the
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture on research priorities for the US Forest
Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture. He is the
2008 recipient of the National Recreation and Park Association
Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Award for Excellence in
Recreation and Park Research. He is an elected Fellow of the
Academy of Leisure Sciences.

This event is brought to you by RPTS 321
Event Management and Operations.
Summer Baker
Kennedy Barron
Jessica Bergeron
Katie Cacy
Cory Dentler
Madison Elliott
Emily Gainey
Julie Haas
Heather Herrick
Allison Kuentz
Isabel Le
Revyn Marburger
Katie Markham
Tory Newbold
Elizabeth Peterson
Madison Riley
Makenzie Rising
Kylie Schlather
Alexandra Skrocki
Rachel Stirneman
Shelby Waltz
Stacey Williams
Angie Yado

Thank You to Our Sponsors