On any given winter night, you might find Jon Wall standing on a basketball court with a whistle around his neck and thousands of eyes watching his next call.

But long before the big stages and national matchups, Jon’s officiating career started somewhere much quieter — on an intramural court at NC State.

Back then, he was just a student looking for a campus job. “I just wanted to make a little extra money,” Jon laughs. “My parents told me I needed a job.”  What the Parks, Recreation and Tourism major found was a career path.

Wall, who graduated in 2006, began as an intramural basketball and flag football official with Wellness and Recreation. He later became a program assistant, helping schedule leagues and train officials, scorekeepers and supervisors.

What started as a part-time campus job evolved into hands-on experience in leadership, communication and conflict resolution — skills he now uses daily as a professional in collegiate recreation. “I ended up loving refereeing intramural sports and wanted to learn everything that went with running an intramural program,” Wall said. “I loved the culture and how fun and engaging my supervisors were while also teaching me how to be a good referee and employee.”

Wall said his supervisors emphasized accountability and growth, often using mistakes as teaching moments.

“They weren’t afraid to be honest with me and give me some tough love,” he said. “I always knew they cared about me and wanted me to succeed.”

After graduation, Wall accepted a graduate assistantship at East Carolina University and began building a career in collegiate recreation. He now serves as the senior assistant director of sport programs at ECU, where he oversees operations and mentors student staff.

He credits his student employment experience at NC State with preparing him to lead others. “I was trained on how to effectively teach, train and develop student employees,” he said. “Leadership is the biggest thing I learned — how to treat people with respect, give constructive feedback and also accept feedback yourself.”

Alongside his professional role, Wall continues officiating basketball. He has worked NCAA men’s basketball games for 15 years, including 12 seasons at the Division I level. The foundation for both careers, he said, began on the intramural courts at NC State.

“It literally was the groundwork that allowed me to be where I am today,” Wall said. “I fell in love with campus recreation because of the program, the people and the culture. I wouldn’t be where I am without my time there.”

Beyond professional development, the job shaped his college experience. Wall said most of his closest friendships were formed through the intramural program. “Probably 90 percent of my friends came from working intramurals,” he said.

Wellness and Recreation is the largest student employer within the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, employing about 650 students across more than 1,100 positions. Its training initiatives focus on developing professionals and teaching transferable skills students can carry into their future careers. Support for those opportunities is a key focus of NC State’s Day of Giving on March 25, when donations to Wellness and Recreation help fund student employment, staff training and professional development experiences that build the same leadership foundation described by alumni like Jon Wall.