The new Recreation Coordinator for the District of Fort St. James comes with a passion for recreation.
Lisa Kabool, a student of the Recreation Leadership Diploma Program at Langara College, is excited for the opportunity to put her passion and her knowledge to work here in the Fort.
While Kabool was born and raised in New Westminister, the 31-year-old has spent quite a bit of time in Fort St. James over the past year visiting her boyfriend, who was up here working.
So, while she wanted the opportunity to put her first year of studies in her program into practice, she also thought this might be a great place to do it.
The position of recreation coordinator in Fort St. James will give her an opportunity to gain a much broader range of experience than she would have been able to had she tried to find a position in the Lower Mainland or in other larger centres.
“The experience is invaluable,” said Kabool.
Summer positions in larger centres would not likely allow her the opportunity to plan and implement entire recreation programs as well as run them on a day to day basis to see how well they work.
“Plus it’s so pretty here,” she added.
Since she’s been in the community, she has already helped to lead a running clinic and she has been up Mount Pope, something many long-time residents can not even boast.
An avid runner, Kabool runs half-marathons and her innate love of fitness and recreation is what got her interested in the program she is in.
“It just seemed kind of like a natural fit to do what I like and help others get into it too.”
Initially, she had obtained a degree in psychology from Simon Fraser University (SFU), and for the last three years she has managed the SFU bookstore, which while it was a great job, did not necessarily seem like the job she wanted to be at forever.
So instead, Kabool said she “decided to follow my passion” and entered into the Recreation Leadership Program and one year in she’s at the top of her class and loving the program.
While initially she took a leave of absence from her job at SFU, she has since handed in her resignation in full commitment to her future as a recreation leader.
“It was so scary,” she said.
But she seems to be doing well at her new role, and this year’s recreation programs are sure to benefit from the love she has for what she’s doing.
Information on programs can be found at: http://fortstjames.ca/parks-recreation/