2025 ORSA ELECTION CANDIDATES

Student Representative

Candidate #1 - Jonah Bacho - Mount Union University

  • The role of ORSA is to further the enhancement of recreational and wellness awareness and resources in the state of Ohio. The main avenue in which ORSA makes the most impact is in its ability to hold events for the enrichment of current recreational and wellness workers. An adjacent avenue of equal value in which I seek to improve as the potential student representative is our ability to educate and recruit the future candidates within our field. Allocating part of our time and efforts to seeking new potential GAs, Coordinators and other young talent should be a major emphasis for ORSA in the coming years if it seeks to grow in its effectiveness and attendance.

  • The role of the student representative is to focus on the education and youth-involvement of ORSA. The student representative is the forefront of the future of recreational and wellness. Youth involvement makes up a large part of most sports, why is recreation not the same? As the Student Representative I feel as though a recruiting process around the state at different institutions would improve ORSA attendance. Connecting with clubs and academic programs throughout the state would be a great way of sharing information for ORSA and even possibly raise future abilities for speakers to visit Universities.

  • I am a newer member to ORSA as I have attended the Summer Workshop at Wright State as my first appearance. I feel as though my future goals within the field as well as my involvement in campus recreation at various schools and divisions will aid in my efforts in this role.

Candidate #2 - Joe Forcht - The Ohio State University

  • I believe the role of ORSA is to connect, support, and empower individuals and institutions involved in campus recreation. ORSA provides students and professionals alike opportunities for networking, professional development, and career advancement. ORSA facilitates the exchange of ideas and knowledge among professionals and creates a sense of unity among campus recreation facilities. Without ORSA, campus recreation institutions in the state of Ohio would be disconnected from one another.

  • I believe the student representative serves as a representation of the student body within ORSA. The student representative exemplifies what great leadership, professionalism, and work ethic should look like in the field of campus recreation. I believe I will positively impact ORSA in this role by bringing a fresh and enthusiastic perspective to the organization. My ability to connect with and understand students will enable me to provide valuable insights into program development and improvement.

  • As an undergraduate student working in campus recreation at Cleveland State University, I attended ORSA, student lead-on, and NIRSA. I was awarded multiple scholarships to attend these events through ORSA and NIRSA.These conferences helped me gain valuable connections, insight, and experience which lead me to my current role as a Graduate Assistant at The Ohio State University.

    Furthermore, I recently attended the ORSA Summer outreach at Wright State University. I plan on attending every single conference both within ORSA and NIRSA over the next two years. I am also currently serving on the 2025 student lead-on marketing committee.

    I have connections with both students and professionals across the country due to these conferences, and as the student representative of ORSA, I believe I will represent our state and institution with excellence.

President Elect

Candidate #1 - Drew Salvador - Associate Director, University of Dayton

  • ORSA accomplishes many objectives, but I believe its role is best summed up by three purposes: (1) providing educational and developmental opportunities both within and outside of ORSA, (2) recognizing and celebrating the achievements of its’ constituents and (3) creating mechanisms for its members to meet, engage, network, collaborate and belong. As we consider the states of both higher education and campus recreation as an industry, both ORSA’s offerings and the way it creates community and belonging for campus recreation professionals and students are more important than ever.

  • An ORSA Executive Officer should continuously seek to improve the association, its offerings and mission through involvement, engagement, feedback from members and assessment. As higher education and the industry change, executive officers must be adaptable, cognizant of shifting landscapes and open to change. In addition, ORSA Executive Officers should actively promote ORSA and provide outreach for prospective members, including professionals and students. There will always be external obstacles that may not align with ORSA’s mission and vision. An Executive Officer should have a solid foundation on ORSA’s history, mission and vision and be able to defend these when faced with these obstacles. Considering my strengths as a professional, I believe I would positively impact ORSA through intentional short- and long- term planning, effective communication and servant leadership. I would seek to learn more about the history of ORSA, other areas and committees and what members want to see from the association.

  • In general, I believe all three of these events are extremely well planned and executed. Regarding the state workshop, over the past few years the number of presentation proposals has steadily increased resulting in a record number of proposals this year. Additional growth opportunities would be how to garner this same energy towards election candidates and preconference workshops/offerings that used to be staples of the workshop.

     

    I have only been to Summer Outreach this past year, so my frame of reference is limited. I believe there could be momentum/initiatives towards attendance in general and presentation proposals for this free event. With the influx of positive feedback regarding roundtables in general, perhaps there could be intentional framing around roundtables or a cohort-type experience.

     

    Lastly for the ORSA social, I know I always look forward to attending. A small idea would be to herald the success of the association – having ORSA stickers for name badges could be an easy way to show the scope and strength of Ohio schools to conference participants and potential students/professionals looking for jobs.

     

    Outside of these events, I believe prioritizing student voice and involvement within the association is an immediate growth opportunity. This can include revitalizing the ORSA student committee and/or allowing students to serve on ORSA committees. As the chair of the marketing committee, having a student serve as a standing member on the committee would be exponentially beneficial for recruiting students through social media and increasing student awareness. In addition to providing experiential developmental experience, I believe these students would provide valuable insight and perspective to many ORSA initiatives.

  • *ORSA Experience – current Marketing Committee Chair (1 year) and Member (1 year), ORSA Host Committee Co-Chair 2022, ORSA Host Committee Member 2024

     

    *NIRSA Experience – NIRSA Program Committee (2 years), NIRSA Foundation Committee (2 years), Annual Conference Presentations (3), Regional Conference Presentations (4), Regional Basketball Tournament Committee (1)

     

    Being chair of the marketing committee allows me to see many different aspects of ORSA including strategic initiatives, processes, associated needs and timelines. As we move into next year, we look to build on the momentum of this year from the new website/social media and further focus on data analytics, engagement and student voice. In addition, being part of the workshop host committee this year as well as host committee co-chair in 2022 has provided a strong foundation into all the things that go into a workshop. It has been incredibly helpful to see how various components of the workshop have evolved from 2022 (coming out of COVID) to now including proposals, structure, sponsorships, programming, etc. Having multiple meetings with Ryan and Scott each month this year, whether it be a marketing chair meeting or workshop planning meeting, gives me a glimpse into the responsibilities and expectations of an Executive Officer. Through serving on the NIRSA Program Committee, I learned about their presentation proposal process and reviewed many proposals using established rubrics and critical thought. Through my time on a NIRSA Foundation Committee (Fun Run), I took part in outreach, event planning and a large-scale practice of adapting due to constraints (that one NIRSA where we had a polar plunge instead of a Fun Run). Universally through these and other experiences, I believe I have a solid foundation in committee oversight, prioritization, event logistics, communication and short- and long- term planning.