At age four, junior Amber Dietrich swung a softball bat for the first time. By age 12, she was swinging a bat in the Babe Ruth World Series in Pennsylvania. From a young age, athletics have always been a part of Dietrich’s life and she always knew that she wanted to continue to play softball at the collegiate level.
“Athletics has always been such a huge part of my life throughout every season of the year,” Dietrich said. “They helped mold me into the person I am today and I wasn’t quite ready to give up living that lifestyle once I got to college.”
Once at Cabrini, Dietrich fell in love with the softball team and did not disappoint in her stats or leadership with the team. She was named to the All-CSAC First Team, ECAC South All-Star Second Team and to the NFCA All-East Region Third Team after just her freshman year.
When Dietrich was offered the opportunity to further her involvement in athletics and get involved with the college’s recreation program, she would not say no. Cabrini provides many opportunities for students to take part in intramural programs such as flag football, basketball, battleship and more. There are also outdoor recreation activities that students can partake in, such as trips during the week and weekends to kayaking, SkyZone, rock climbing, horseback riding and whitewater rafting.
Dietrich works alongside Orlin Jesperson, the associate director of athletics, recreation and community engagement, to create new activities for students to get involved in. She currently stands as the student director for the recreation and intramural programs on campus.
“I enjoy working with Orlin,” Dietrich said. “We have a very similar mindset and ways of working on things. It’s nice to have him as a mentor and role model for me to turn to.”
This past summer, Dietrich was awarded a stipend through a program called Outdoor Nation, which is being used to fund the college’s recreation trips. With Dietrich’s hardwork and dedication to the program, the trips were able to be lowered in price to about $15 for a priceless outdoor experience. Through this nonprofit ambassador program, the focus is to get college students involved in outdoor activities. The more students that participate and sign up for the activities, the more it benefits the school. Dietrich is excited for the new partnership that she was able to start with Valley Forge National Park.
“I think the most rewarding thing about working with this program and also the intramural program is just being able to enjoy the outdoors and enjoy the beauty that life has to offer,” Dietrich said. “It lets me slow down life a little and enjoy it with other people and for intramurals, I enjoy seeing other people be active, have fun playing sports and doing something not really offered on a day-to-day basis.”
This past week, Dietrich, Jespersen and junior Steve Halko traveled to Atlanta, Ga. to attend a conference to learn new ideas about a recreation pre-orientation trip for incoming freshmen called base camp. Dietrich and Halko will be student leaders for the base camp trip this coming summer.
“Going to Georgia was a great experience because we were involved in a professional environment, met new colleagues and gained a lot of useful information that Amber and I will apply to our planning of the outdoor orientation program for freshmen,” Halko said.
Dietrich looks forward to putting what she learned at the conference to use in her planning for not just the summer pre-orientation program, but in her recreation activities that she will be planning for the future. Dietrich’s passion is seen by those that she works with every single day.
“The work that Amber does is admirable because she makes these connections and markets them well on campus,” Halko said. “Not to mention she does all of this while juggling multiple campus jobs and working in class.”
When Dietrich graduates next spring, she will be leaving behind a large impact on the athletics department at Cabrini College, not just in intercollegiate athletics, but in recreation and intramural programs as well.