Oct. 30, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by GreatLIFE Golf & Fitness.

Earn college credits while working in the fitness industry?

For Connor Rentz, it has become one more reason to love his job at GreatLIFE Golf & Fitness.

“I absolutely love it here,” said Rentz, a Dell Rapids native who works in member support at Woodlake Athletic Club.

On this day, Rentz arrived at the gym by 5 a.m., assisted in everything from memberships and maintenance to cleanup and fixing machines, and then stayed after his eight-hour shift to work out himself.

“The people are the best part,” he said. “Before this, I was never a people person. I was really quiet and shy, but working here you meet thousands of people, and it gives you the ability to connect. It’s really brought me out of my shell.”

That kind of self-awareness doesn’t happen by accident. Rather, it’s caused in part by another benefit of GreatLIFE: GreatLIFE University, which offers ongoing professional and personal development to team members.

“We needed a different value proposition for our team members,” explained Nick Ovenden, GreatLIFE president. “We pay competitively and have strong benefits, but we wanted another way to add value. And I think education and personal growth can be such a big part of self-worth. Our team members can take what we offer them and use it to become a better version of themselves.”

GreatLIFE University is based around the concept of purpose-driven leadership. It’s a five-part approach that leans heavily on experiential learning, blending some classroom-style work with a large focus on applying what’s learned on the job.

Phase one is eight weeks and available to any team member once their on-boarding is complete. The focus is on self-understanding.

“It’s a chance to self-reflect with help from supporting materials that they go through weekly with their leads,” Ovenden said. “You might learn something for five to 15 minutes, but then you utilize that new learning tool at work and reflect at the end of the day or the week with your leads.”

So far, almost 100 GreatLIFE team members have gone through that phase of the program.

Phases two and three are limited to eight to 12 participants at a time and are more structured around meetings and seminars. Participants hear from outside speakers who talk about leadership at work, and they participate in the CliftonStrengths assessment.

“Phase two is about understanding how and where you fit within your team and how you build a team around you. Because we tend to hire ourselves, we need to gain a better understanding of why someone might think a different way than you and add value because of it,” Ovenden said.

“And then in phase three, we’re focused on understanding GreatLIFE’s business as a whole and how you fit as part of the larger team.”

In that phase, participants enjoy a “day in the life” look at other aspects of the business. That could include spending time with the grounds crew on a golf course, getting an inside look at running GreatLIFE Suburban Lanes or gaining insight into some of the company’s corporate functions.

“There’s this tendency at work to think you work harder than anyone else, and a lot of people’s frustration comes from not understanding other people’s job functions,” Ovenden said. “So this shows you the bigger picture and makes you appreciate everyone. Working behind the counter of the pro shop might seem easy until you do it and realize it takes a lot of multitasking, or you jump in and help with the juice bar.”

The final phases are based around the book “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth” and a continued understanding of yourself in addition to an intentional mentoring process.

For Rentz, who began GreatLIFE University in the summer of 2023, “I’ve definitely liked all aspects of it,” he said. “The entire process was amazing.”

Not only that, but it’s also about to result in college credit for him. Through a relationship with USD, those who complete all five stages of GreatLIFE University earn college credit toward a minor in civic leadership studies.

“They’ll come away with nine credits, which is half of what’s needed to complete that minor,” Ovenden said.

“So for someone like Connor, he’s been able to earn college credit while he’s working, plus increase his understanding of leadership and set himself up for further opportunities down the road. He already brings so much to our team because he just genuinely cares, so anything we can do to pour into someone like that we want to do.”

Rentz bounced around a bit during his initial college career but now is refocused on earning an accounting degree through USD and sitting for his CPA exam.

As part of GreatLIFE University, he was able to shadow GreatLIFE leaders on the golf and fitness sides of the business in addition to GreatLIFE’s chief operating officer, who helped him learn more about the organization’s financials.

“As an accounting major, I was a big fan of that,” he said. “I learned about cash flow, and profit and loss, and it was really interesting to me.”

The entire process “was amazing,” Rentz added. “I’m very thankful to have been able to be part of it. I was never big into learning about myself or my intentions as a leader, and this has helped me embrace what I love to do. I don’t think I’d be where I am today without it.”

To learn more about growing your career with GreatLIFE, click here.