Recreation and Recognition 

ALBANY, N.Y. (Dec. 16, 2016) – Lauren Taylor is an accounting major, but four years of working for Campus Recreation has taught her a lot.

Taylor, a senior from Massapequa, N.Y., has won an award from the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA). The award recognizes top students in collegiate recreation who participate in or are employed by their recreation sports department. NIRSA is also known as Leaders in Collegiate Recreation.

While her long-term goal is in accounting, Taylor credits her job in Campus Recreation with teaching her leadership skills. This summer, she will be interning with PricewaterhouseCoopers, a Big 4 accounting firm. She hopes to work there long term.

Senior Lauren Taylor is an accounting major who has worked for Campus Recreation since freshman year.

“Campus Recreation has taught me how to work hard to move up to higher positions, which I have done during my four years working with them. In addition, I have learned how to excel in leadership positions through this position, which will be very helpful for my career,” Taylor said.

Campus Recreation, located in Physical Education B-107, provides more than 25 club sports open to all UAlbany students, and offers group exercise classes like yoga and Pilates to students, faculty and staff. Its goal is creating healthy lifestyles through fitness, wellness, sports, outdoor adventures and aquatics.

Taylor joined Campus Recreation as a student office receptionist first semester of her freshman year, and was quickly promoted to member service representative and then to program assistant for Recreation Services last fall.

She handles patron complaints, schedules employee shifts and completes time sheets for student employees every other week. In addition she helps with tasks ranging from reorganizing the locker room to completing an inventory log of the items her office sells.

Over the past year and a half, Taylor has assisted Campus Rec with projects outside of her job description, including serving on the UAlbany Fit Fair Committee. The Fit Fair is a popular event that showcases the wide range of intramural sports and group exercises classes available to students.

“I nominated Lauren for this award because she has dedicated so much of her undergrad career to Campus Recreation,” said her supervisor, Assistant Director of Membership and Staff Development Sarah Wolanin. “She is a true student leader, both with Campus Recreation and elsewhere on campus.”

Taylor is the president of Beta Alpha Psi, an international honorary accounting organization. “She is also very committed to reaching her academic goals,” Wolanin said.

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