HPER students welcome people to Olympics as event service specialists
In February, people from all over the world will be coming to Utah, and 72 students from USU’s Health and Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) department will be welcoming them as event service specialists.
Dr. Art Jones, department head of the HPER department, said he contacted the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) with a proposal for 100 students from their department to be employees during the Olympics. Since the games showcase a large part of the department’s focus, Jones said he felt it was a good opportunity.
“We thought our students should be involved,” he said.
Students are also looking forward to the opportunity, said Nathan Smith, a senior majoring in parks and recreation. Copy Ed 1/10/02 and is going/ was selected?.
“I’m just glad Dr. Jones took the initiative. I don’t think it would have happened without him, and I’m really excited about everything,” Smith said.
SLOC was interested in the proposal because they are getting the help of bright, friendly, enthusiastic students for the Olympics, Jones said. Students are excited to be involved in what is being hailed as a “once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Students also gain experience in many areas related to their field, get paid and benefit the university, Jones said.
If students complete their three-week work schedule, they will also receive an extra dollar an hour for the time they worked, Jones said, but this money will do more than pay for a few frozen pizzas.
All the students participating will donate the extra money to an Olympic scholarship fund the department is hoping to raise $10,000 to start, Jones said.
Nathan Trauntvein, a senior with a double major in parks and recreation and history, said this is the part he is most excited about and will do an independent study next year to raise any funds they lack.
The students will all be working at Salt Lake venues including the Salt Lake Ice Center, Media Center and Olympic Family Hotel, and will be providing mainly security and crowd control, Trauntvein said.
Most of the students will be working 40 to 50 hours each week, Trauntvein said, and although most will not start until February during the main three-week event, some of the students involved took the semester off and are already working at various venues.
One problem for those students still enrolled at USU is taking time off from classes to be involved, Jones said. He said he hopes all professors will work with students so they can participate without any negative effect on their schoolwork.
Trauntvein said, “I won’t have a problem because all my classes are in parks and recreation, and many of our department classes are providing extra make-up assignments for us.”
“You don’t really want to push professors, but they need to understand that we’re not going to be there for lecture and we can’t always depend on other students to help us catch up. Hopefully they’ll work with us,” Smith said.
But there is no question as to whether he will participate or not, he said.
“I’m definitely doing this. It’s a lifetime experience,” Smith said.