The Career Center at the University of Illinois

The Career Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is an outstanding agency that provides a much needed service to all students at the U of I. Students have the opportunity to utilize the resources and programs that the Career Center offers. Whether you are an upperclassmen looking to perfect a resume or an incoming freshmen trying to plan your academic future, the Career Center has the tools to help you succeed.


The Career Center offers many services to students including major/career advising, resume/cover letter help, job/internship guidance, interview coaching, and more. Both undergrad and graduate students benefit from the hard work of the career center employees. One program that stands out is Skills for Success. Through this program students are able to target key attributes important for the professional world and then are able to develop these skills further through specific programs.



For the up and coming business people of the world, the Career Center offers excellent services which give prospective applicants the necessary tools for creating an impressive resume. With the vast amount of students enrolled at the University of Illinois, the agency's staff is truly tested. However, they continue to produce some of the nations most qualified candidates for jobs across the world.




The Career Center also helps pre-health prospects prepare for the future. With the health field becoming increasingly competitive, students need to be on top of their game. From planning out the pre-health puzzle to gathering letters of recommendations, the staff is dedicated to helping students reach their full potential. Resources such as The Health Career Chronicles guide students on their quest for excellence.



Amongst undergraduates, graduates also have the opportunity to take advantage of the Career Center. With programs such as Letters of Evaluation Online, graduates get the chance to become strong prospects for future professional or academic opportunities.




All in all, working for the Career Center at the University of Illinois requires dedication and passion for helping others succeed in life after college. From students to professionals, the Career Center has a staff composed of those willing to serve and aid those who value education. Ancient Greece, one of the most influential and arguably one of the greatest civilizations in history, valued learning the most. The Career Center embodies these values by helping students to further their education and continue on their specified career path. This agency is a tremendous leisure delivery system because of the the way they accomplish the greatest leisure activity of all, learning.

By: Alex Mallo

The Hotel Sax of Chicago is a higher end hotel located in downtown Chicago. It is home to 353 guest rooms, several restaurants, and bars, all while being in walking distance to some of the city’s most famous tourist attractions. Formerly known as the House of Blues Hotel the building was renamed Hotel Sax in 2007.


Tourists are often found here because of its prime location on the Chicago River across from the Loop. It is still commonly associated with the House of Blues amphitheatre, which is found right next-door on Dearborn Ave. The Hotel Sax draws everyday people from around the world as well as today’s most famous celebrities, all of which, while staying there, can use their keycards to gain admission to shows at the House of Blues.




At a hotel like this there are plenty of different job opportunities. One worker I interviewed is a University of Illinois Alumni who majored in RST. Ideally he would like to move up but he is currently just getting in with the hotel as a bellhop. There are jobs like hotel managers, house electricians and carpenters, waiters/waitresses, as well as cleaning people, security guards, and receptionists among others.



To separate themselves from other competing hotels the Hotel Sax most obviously uses its connection to the House of Blues to lure in patrons. Although this is the main attraction, Hotel Sax has invested in several other accommodations for their visitors including a bowling alley, video game entertainment centers for specific rooms, and fitness center. These advances keep consumers happy because they are able to get things here they cannot get anywhere else.




Being a higher end hotel the Hotel Sax strives to make the stay for its visitors as pleasant as possible. Between its location, plentiful and helpful staff, and in house accommodations the Hotel Sax has everything a tourist might need while visiting Chicago. Their goal is to serve people to the best of their ability and judging by the hotel’s recent success I would say they are accomplishing that goal.




Having come from Chicago I was surprised at how much I enjoyed my day spent at the Hotel Sax Chicago. The views were amazing and the hotel itself was immaculate. While asking my friend questions regarding the hotel I started thinking about how this could be a great place to work. There are job opportunities for just about any background and once in the door there are endless opportunities to move up. As I learned more about the hotel I questioned whether each job was related to our discussions because some seemed less associated with leisure services than others. However, after some time I realized that even laborers like the electricians were in place to please the visitors of the Sax Hotel. Overall, I enjoyed my visit, I felt the employees enjoyed their jobs, and thus, I could not find any cons of working for a hotel similar to Hotel Sax Chicago.

Devil's Den State Park

The Ozarks Mountains located in Lake Creek Valley in the northwestern part of Arkansas was chosen in the 1930’s as the site for a park. They named it Devil’s Den State Park. Devil’s Den State Park is the epitome of outdoor greatness, surrounded by “ancient sedimentary mountains” and “lush oak-hickory forests”, it is a must see for any camping enthusiast or novice.



The history and creation of this state park and other state parks alike can be traced back to the Great Depression of the 1930’s. This catastrophic event caused a lot of unemployment and restlessness, which lead to an excess of free time that unfortunately in some instances lead to criminal activity.


As a result of this the federal government decided to step in and in essence kill two birds with one stone and started a number of emergency work programs related to recreation. The aim was to alleviate the job shortage and create positive recreational activities for people.


The one directly related to Devil’s Den State Park is The Civilian Conservation Corps, which helped establish many state’s park systems. The Civilian Conservation Corps managed to use native materials in the creation of Devil’s Den creating:

“rustic style wood and stone structures including an impressive native stone dam that spans Lee Creek in the heart of the park forming a peaceful 8-acre Lake Devil”

It takes a lot to keep a state park clean, attractive, and welcoming to tourists. State Parks have a number of employment opportunities ranging from desk clerks, retail, park upkeep, park rangers, guides, administration, and instructors. All of this information can be found in the state park website
I think that anyone wanting to work for a state park has to have a deep interest in nature and a certain pride for his or her state. Everybody that I spoke to in the park enjoyed their job and truly loved helping people and aiding them in having the best possible experience in their state.


Thanks to all of these wonderful people that dedicate so much of their time anyone is able to experience the outdoors and participate in many different leisure activities. At Devil's Den you can go camping with your own tent or rent a cabin. I went to Devil's Den for about three days with a group of friends and for a small fee we were able to use our own tent and camp out. We had access to a number of hiking trails, caves, streams, and a number of other resources. Trust me we all had a blast. We created our own fires, found or own fire wood, and pretty much grilled all weekend. The campsites were equipped with a small building, which came with a bathroom and showers, which was nice.







It was nice to see that the state park has made it so that everyone can enjoy the park in a variety of ways. You can walk a number of trails with varying levels of difficulty so everyone can participate. They offer canoeing; you can rent mountain bikes, ride horses and take a guided or un-guided tour. It is all about enjoying your surrounding and appreciating our local wonders.



To wrap things up I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Devil’s Den to say the least. I had a wonderful experience with all of my friends. The park had a lot to offer and for being my first camping trip I was not disappointed. The highlight of the trip was going into an actual bat cave and going down about 2 miles underground in complete darkness climbing rock formations as bats lined the walls while they hibernated.










Overall, I don’t think there are many cons in getting a career in this type of tourism especially in the state park area. I figure that if you are considering working for a state park you already like being around nature so that wont be an issue. The only thing that I do know is that the pay isn’t very lucrative. You can make a decent living but it will be just enough. I believe that if you are in this line of work making tons of money may not be a priority. This type of tourism is very important because it not only provides tons of leisure activities it also protects our country's natural treasures.




Devil’s Den State park was a wonderful experience and highly recommend it to everyone!



By: Eddy Herrera

The University of Illinois Ice Arena

The Ice Arena is one of the many campus recreational facilities that the University of Illinois has to offer. It is located at 406 E. Armory avenue Champaign, Il. The arena is both a place to watch University events such as a hockey game or synchronized skating and to participate in the activities yourself. This is where many students spend their leisure time.

This arena is where the 2008 fighting Illini club hockey team plays its home games. These games get very exciting and can be a good source of leisure and school spirit for any student who attends. There are also a number of intramural sports that take place here such as broomball, hockey, figure skating, and more. The arena also offers open skates, where any student can skate for free, several times a week as well as lessons for those who are beginners. They even have a concession stand in case one feels hungry or thirsty after skating.

There are three professionals over 100 student employees that the Ice Arena staffs. Potential employees must attend an informational meeting, submit an application online through the campus recreation website along with a resume and cover letter, and go through an interview before they can work at the arena or any campus recreational facility. Once employed, an employee can be promoted to more important roles such as a manager, a referee, a zamboni driver, or a skating instructor.

Since the rink must stay frozen, the temperature in the actual stadium is fairly low causing a trend of most skaters wearing sweatshirts or long-sleeved shirts while they are skating or watching a hockey game in the stands. Another trend that is taking place at the rink is the renting of skates. Since most people who use the rink are students they do not always bring their skates down to school with them so they have to rent them, and with the cheap rate of one dollar per individual instance.

The Ice Arena is a part of Campus Recreation and their slogan is “Campus Recreation: A Place for Everyone,” so the ice arena is a facility that is very much open to the public as well as students. This Ice Arena provides a place for students and the public to spend their leisure time in a positive manner, and can keep adolescents and young adults off of the street and out of trouble. With all of the intramural and educational programs it offers, it is safe to say that there are plenty of events people attend to stay busy and use their leisure time to better themselves.

The Ice arena would be a great place to work if you are a student. There are many different jobs that you can hold and from my experience speaking with some employees it seems very possible to move up the “chain of command” rather quickly. If a student started working there at the beginning of his or her freshman year they can eventually be managing many employees by the time that they are done with school, which can look great on a resume. As far as a career is concerned, I do not know how secure of a career it would be, because there are only three professionals that work there full time. This makes it seem like it would be very difficult to acquire such a position and hold that position. The Ice Arena serves as a good source for leisure and employment for those in the adolescent to young adult age groups. Personally, every time that I go to the ice arena I have a good time. It is always fun watching a winning hockey team so you should come by and check it out. I guarantee that you will enjoy your leisure time at The University of Illinois Ice Arena.

-Mike Landuyt