{"162011":{"#nid":"162011","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Jenkins Built Career Around Love for Sports","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe old adage is to find something you love to do, and then find a way to make money doing it. When it comes to Dru Jenkins\u2019s career, he\u2019s managed to do just that.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve always loved sports and played soccer and basketball and run track,\u201d said Jenkins, intramurals coordinator at the Campus Recreation Center (CRC). \u201cI feel so fortunate to have a job that allows me to make a job out of a hobby \u2014 and that allows me to share my interest with our students.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile in college at James Madison University in Virginia, Jenkins majored in sports management and took a job refereeing for intramural basketball teams on campus. After graduation, he transitioned into a sports administration master\u2019s program at Georgia State University, which is when Jenkins began working in the CRC as a graduate assistant.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFive years ago, it was time to find a job, and I applied to places all over the country,\u201d he added. \u201cBut I ended up accepting the position I\u2019m in right now, and the rest is history.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERead on to learn more about Jenkins and his time at Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us about your job.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI oversee 45 student officials (who referee intramural sports) and 17 student supervisors. I\u2019m responsible for scheduling them, their payroll and training. In addition, I also develop game schedules for the 17 intramural sports we offer, which includes anywhere from 280 to 325 teams (depending on the time of year) and about 13,000 to 14,000 participants. I end each day spending about one to two hours each night at the games, working with our student employees and hearing feedback from the students who participate on the teams.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is one misconception people have about your job?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI think a lot of people think that I just schedule games. But a large part of my job is helping our students to develop as leaders. Our unit has learning outcomes in place for students, just as there are learning outcomes in place for academic classes. I spend a lot of face-to-face time with our student officials and supervisors, providing both positive feedback and thoughts on how they can do their jobs better.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the most satisfying part of your job?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI love working with the students. And it\u2019s always nice to hear that what I\u2019m doing makes a difference. For example, I recently had a student write to tell me how his experience as an official helped him to become a better speaker and be more organized.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is one piece of technology you can\u2019t live without?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMy iPhone. I realize how much I miss it whenever I don\u2019t have cell service. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the biggest risk you ever took?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI recently got engaged. I had a feeling that my fianc\u00e9e\u2019s response would be \u201cyes,\u201d but it was a pretty nerve-wracking moment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the best advice you\u2019ve ever received?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EAlways think before you speak. This is especially important in the world of \u003Cbr \/\u003Eintramural sports where a lot of reactions \u003Cbr \/\u003Eare knee-jerk.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is your favorite place to have lunch?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EIt\u2019s probably the Student Center Food Court where I eat at least once a week. I\u2019m a big fan of the gyro wrap.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something that others might not know about you. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis summer, I went on a five-day, 53-mile backpacking trip in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. I was with a group of friends, and we\u2019d wake up at 5:30 a.m., hike all day and then go to sleep around 9 p.m. It was an amazing experience that I\u2019m proud to have made it through.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe old adage is to find something you love to do, and then find a way to make money doing it. When it comes to Dru Jenkins\u2019s career, he\u2019s managed to do just that.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The old adage is to find something you love to do, and then find a way to make money doing it. When it comes to Dru Jenkins\u2019s career, he\u2019s managed to do just that."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2012-10-15 13:15:39","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:58","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-10-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-10-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"161941":{"id":"161941","type":"image","title":"Dru Jenkins","body":null,"created":"1449178908","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:48","changed":"1475894796","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:36","alt":"Dru Jenkins","file":{"fid":"195442","name":"dru.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dru_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dru_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1395942,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dru_0.jpg?itok=zYyigO-h"}}},"media_ids":["161941"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4523","name":"Campus Recreation Center"},{"id":"719","name":"CRC"},{"id":"46441","name":"Dru Jenkins"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}