Have you ever been involved with a club or intramural (IM) sport, or gone on an Outdoor Recreation (OREC) trip? Coming up on her nine-year anniversary working at Trinity, Kristen Harrison, associate athletic director for recreation and sports camp, is to thank for it.
“There’s so many different elements that go into it, and I love to see the students evolve and grow and to become who they want to be, to become the leaders, to become, you know, role models for their peers.” Harrison said. “I love to see the growth of students while they’re here.”
Harrison played college soccer for Nicholls State University but tore her ACL three times. Injuries drove her from playing to student coaching. After graduating with her bachelor’s degree in human performance education, she began what she thought would be her career of teaching and coaching high school soccer.
“So, [I] student-taught for one semester and decided, nope, this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life,” Harrison said. “So I called up my stepdad and said, ‘What am I going to do?’ And he goes, ‘Well, you already know how to live like a poor college student. Why don’t you go ahead and get your master’s degree?’”
She began working as a graduate assistant and earned her master’s in education. She became a full time assistant coach for around six years at her alma mater, until a new recreational facility opened up the opportunity for Harrion to apply to be their intramural coordinator.
“I want to impact more students. I want to be able to give more students opportunities to play, to interact with others, to create fellowship, to create friendships. So that’s why I took that intramural position,” Harrison said. “I shifted over into the recreational side of sports, giving the opportunity for students to participate in a lot of different events and continue to be healthy and active.”
In 2016, Harrison’s family moved to San Antonio after her husband, Dylan Harrison, was hired as the head women’s soccer coach at Trinity. Later that year, Kristen Harrison was hired to her current position as associate athletic director for recreation and sports camps; a job with numerous responsibilities including managing IM and club sports along with OREC.
The logistics of all clubs and IM sports are handled in her office in the Williams H. Bell Center. The space resembles a scrapbook featuring college soccer memorabilia including a ball displaying a 2-1 score against Louisiana State University, drawings from her son, club sports trophies, her own 5K medal collection and a cow figurine from her grandmother’s collection.
“It’s decoration, organized chaos. It’s a lot of little trinkety things I think I have collected over working here at Trinity or even working at the last institution I was at, Nicholls State University, because that’s also my alma mater,” Harrison said.
The behind-the-scenes planning and logistics that Harrison manages allows Trinity’s club and IM sports teams to compete with the resources they have today. Harrison requests funds from SGA to cover basic costs such as tournament fees for club sports and prizes for intramural competitions.
Harrison said she loves her job because it allows students to gain new experiences through sports and getting out in nature. Harrison said. “It’s giving students an opportunity to live a healthy, active lifestyle and to build that for their future, for their time beyond here at Trinity, with club sports and intramural student students and even OREC, get that opportunity to become leaders, to help carry them forward in their lives.”
At the time of the interview, it was managing details for Hallympics, but every day looks different for Harrison. She is responsible for coordinating with referees and athletic trainers for Trinity home games, student staff schedule for IMs, managing and approving budgets and ordering t-shirts and gift cards.
“I wish I had a routine, but I don’t, which is great, because it keeps me on my toes. Some nights I’m out at sand volleyball playing by myself, getting the opportunity to interact, not only with my student workers, but with my co-workers as well.” Harrison said. “It’s hard to list, because it’s so much, I would say it’s creating a lot of scheduling. Scheduling is the big piece of what I do, between intramurals and club sports events.”
Harrison’s involvement with Trinity athletics doesn’t end there, she also loves watching Trinity athletics whether that is club, IM or varsity sports. Harrison even mentioned getting ready to stream a Trinity volleyball game after the interview.
“My favorite team is Trinity,” Harrison said. “I love going to any of our home club events that we have. I love supporting our students and watching them compete and play. And after all the games, when the students even will, every once in a while, someone will be like, ‘Thank you for coming to our game,’ and I’m like, it makes my heart so happy. Like, that’s why I do what I do. You make my heart happy. I love it. Give you the opportunity to compete and play and have fun.”
