Celebrating Lauren Bade: 2025 NART Future Scholar

The National Academy of Recreational Therapists is proud to recognize Lauren Bade, MS, TRS, CTRS, as the 2025 NART Future Scholar. Lauren graduated in August 2025 with a Master of Science in Recreational Therapy from the University of Utah and holds a Bachelor of Science in Therapeutic Recreation and Management from Brigham Young University. Her clinical experience spans diverse settings and populations across the lifespan, encompassing both clinical and community-based recreational therapy programs.

Academic Excellence and Research Contributions

During her graduate studies, Lauren demonstrated exceptional commitment to both teaching and research. She served as a Teaching Assistant for several undergraduate recreational therapy courses and contributed as a Research Assistant on a study examining the efficacy of robotic pet interventions for older adults with varying cognitive abilities.

For her master's project, Lauren developed a series of educational training videos on various assessments relevant to RT practice and packaged them as a series called the RT Playbook. She evaluated the effectiveness of these resources by surveying Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists, gathering valuable feedback on their utility and impact.

ATRA Conference Recognition and Presentation

Lauren was honored at the ATRA Annual 2025 Awards Ceremony on October 18th as a recipient of the NART Future Scholars Program Award. She also presented her master's project at the conference, titled "Evaluating the RT Playbook: A Series of Online Educational Videos Focused on Recreational Therapy Assessments."

Her presentation examined the development and evaluation of four online educational videos designed to enhance recreational therapy (RT) assessment training. Each video covers a specific assessment tool, including its psychometric properties, structure, scoring procedures, clinical applications in RT practice, and accessibility. Preliminary evaluation findings demonstrated promising results, suggesting that educational video series such as the RT Playbook represent an effective method for improving assessment competency among recreational therapists.

Reflecting on her experience, Lauren stated: "Attending the ATRA conference in San Antonio was an incredibly energizing experience that renewed my excitement for research and academic engagement in recreational therapy. I'm very grateful for the support of the National Academy of Recreational Therapists scholarship that made it possible for me to attend and learn from so many inspiring leaders in the field."

Professional Engagement and Recognition

Lauren is an active member of both the Utah Recreation Therapy Association. (URTA) and the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA). She has assumed leadership and committee service roles in URTA and has presented at multiple RT professional conferences. Lauren’s exceptional academic and professional achievements have been recognized with multiple awards and honors, including the University of Utah College of Health Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award,  the URTA Outstanding Graduate Student Award, and the ATRA Peg Connolly Scholarship Award.

Looking Ahead

Lauren plans to continue her academic journey by pursuing a PhD in Rehabilitation Science. The National Academy of Recreational Therapists congratulates Lauren on her achievements and looks forward to her continued contributions to the advancement of recreational therapy research, education, and practice.

Best wishes for continued success, Lauren!