This semester, SRU student Cheyenne Lohr began an internship with the Slippery Rock Area Parks and Recreation Center (SRAPR).
Lohr is a junior Communication major with a concentration in Advertising and Digital Media.
Through Lohr’s internship, she works with the center’s digital advertising and communications.
“I create content for social media, design promotional flyers and help with the newsletter. Through our social media and newsletter, we promote the events, programs and lessons happening at the park,” Lohr said.
“So far, through this internship, I’ve gained hands-on experience in the world of digital marketing and visual communication,” she said further. “I genuinely enjoy my internship; it’s already been such a rewarding experience because of how creative I am allowed to be. This experience has further helped to confirm that I love being a comm student, and I’ve grown both professionally and creatively in my role.”
Lohr found this opportunity through the SRU Internships page.
“I looked into the description of the role and was immediately interested. I reached out to my now-supervisor, Denton, to express that I was interested in the role and ask if he’d be interested and willing to meet with me. He responded quickly, we set up a time to interview, and the rest is history,” Lohr said.
Lohr also explained why she wanted to work at the Parks and Recreation Center.
“I value being involved with a company that is involved with their community and makes an effort to positively impact the people around them. I also love being outdoors and anything that is related to nature, I worked at a greenhouse for eight years, so working with the Parks and Recreation Center felt like a perfect fit for my personality and interests,” Lohr said.
Lohr shared that her favorite part about her internship is the creative freedom and hands-on knowledge outside of school.
“I love designing social media content, flyers and newsletters, as well as having the liberty to make it look however I see fit,” she said. “My supervisor has given me the task, over the course of my internship, to raise engagement and get college students more involved with the park, which I am so excited about.”
Denton Zeronas is the director of the Slippery Rock Parks and Recreation Center.
“SRAPR is a 501c3 Nonprofit entity that is operated through a three-entity agreement between SR Township, Borough and School District, rather than as a separate department within the town,” Zeronas said. “It was officially incorporated in 2011 as a way for each of the entities to create a place that was able to provide low-cost leisure and recreational opportunities for the residents and the surrounding area.”
The SRAPR also offers before- and after-school care at the local elementary schools, and various physical children’s activities including soccer, swim, basketball and more.
“We also put on the high school musical and host a wide variety of internships for interested students at the university,” Zeronas said.
Zeronas explained that everyone is welcome to enjoy the facilities.
“Grounds access is available from sunrise to sunset. We have 3.1 miles of paved trails, 2 pavilions available for rent for events, five baseball fields, a football field, soccer fields, etc. Our recreation center is also available to rent for different events,” Zeronas said.
“I think for the university students who call Slippery Rock home, they should know that we are here. When I first came to Slippery Rock for undergrad, I wasn’t aware of the park for my first year or so on campus and had no idea just how big the park was,” Zeronas said.
The organization runs a lot on community donations and volunteers to keep the SRAPR running.
The SRAPR is always looking for program volunteers throughout the year for various events.
“We typically post our volunteer opportunities on GivePulse. We also have a program inquiry link on our page for residents to submit suggestions on programs they may want to see or volunteer for. Anyone is also welcome to email me at dzeronas@srpark.org, Zeronas said.
Individuals can also follow SRAPR on Facebook at Slippery Rock Area Parks & Recreation and tag them in photos to share memories.
“Finally, I believe that real-world, hands-on experience is important in developing a strong resume for the post-graduation world. So, if there is ever an internship, practicum, program or project opportunity that a student may be interested in, I’m open to working with them to see what we may be able to do,” Zeronas said.
“We primarily have interns through the communication department, sports management and early education, but we welcome ideas and opportunities for those in other departments as well. So, any professors who may want an off-campus excursion when the weather is nice, feel free to bring your class over here,” Zeronas said.
Some of the future events happening this year include the following:
Slippery Rock High Schools production of Anastasia, April 10-12, directed by former SRU professor Deanna Sparrow.
A July 4th Independence Day celebration.
On October 3, an Oktoberfest celebration.
The SRAPR welcomes all university students to get involved and check out the park.
For more information, individuals can visit https://slipperyrockpark-rec.org/.
