ORLANDO, Fla. – Over 300 individuals representing every sport and coming from all three divisions descended into Orlando last week for the 2019 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum.
 
The four-day itinerary (April 11-14) inside the Omni at Champions Gate was intense and featured two prominent guest speakers including an inspirational message from former Division III football student-athlete Chris Norton from Luther College and Daron Roberts, a former Harvard law graduate turned into NFL coach.
 
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference sent three league representatives, including Tiffin women's soccer student-athlete Leila Hannoui and Alderson Broaddus volleyball student-athlete Racheal Lee. 
 
Conference assistant commissioner Ben Schlesselman also attended as one of a handful of administrators to participate. 
 
Each student-athlete was assigned to a specific color team (blue, teal, black, red, green, etc.) and engaged in a number of interactive activities and sessions designed to enhance their leadership and communication skills. 
 
The environment is designed to break individuals out of their shell early on by organizing group introductions, putting together skits channeled towards different situations and openly inviting feedback. 
 
New friendships are formed and quick bonds are created in such a short amount of time. The camaraderie developed between the entire group and the color teams is impressive to see. 
 
Student-athletes selected to attend the forum return to campus with invaluable leadership skills, the experience of exploring the relationship between personal values, core beliefs and behavioral styles, and a thorough understanding of the NCAA as a whole, the different divisional perspectives and the valuable role of Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC).
 
The following accounts are provided by the weekend's participants representing the Great Midwest. 
 
Racheal Lee
Alderson Broaddus
Freshman
Volleyball - Right Side
Major: Biology with Pre-Med concentration
Minor: Chemistry
 
If I had to choose one word to describe my entire experience, I would say "transformation." The NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum brought together student-athletes from all across the country, even international student-athletes, for the common goal of strengthening our leadership skills. I am firstly thankful to God. I would also like to thank my coach and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference for selecting me as a representative. A special thanks to my wonderful roommate, Caitlin Reed; it was truly meant to be. Lastly, a hearty thank you to my amazing facilitators, Davonte Anderson and Tori Niemann, and my phenomenal color group – Black Team – for creating a safe space in which we could share, learn and grow together!
 
Each day I acquired knowledge and insight about leadership, love, vulnerability, strength and much more from the speakers, my facilitators and the Black Team. It was outstanding to experience how strangers became friends in only a few days. Because everyone was here to learn, we grew exponentially as we shared candidly and poured into each other. My favorite exercises were called "Take a Stand" and "Giving Affirmations."

"Take a Stand" posed a statement that you either agreed to, disagreed to or you were unsure about (in the middle). It was not my favorite exercise solely because we had the opportunity to share our opinions, but I truly cherished listening to the different perspectives in the room. Additionally, everyone was respectful and did not invalidate anyone despite the various opinions and beliefs. For the "Giving Affirmations" exercise, we simply intermingled with our group members and shared positive aspects about each other. It was heartwarming to hear people speak so highly of me, to know my opinion was appreciated and that it made an impact on someone else. 

I could not begin to encompass my entire experience in a few paragraphs, but my greatest takeaways were to lead with authenticity and love, to live life fully with true happiness and to never be afraid to speak up. This process takes time and hard work; yet I have also learned that I am stronger than I know, especially when I have such encouraging people in my corner. I am more ready than ever to be a leader and make an important impact on my team and university's community. #learnlead #BetonBlack
 

Leila Hannoui
Tiffin
Sophomore
Women's Soccer – Attacking Mid
Major: Exercise Science
 
My time at the leadership forum is difficult to express in words. The experience surpassed any expectations I had going into the forum. The forum has not just helped me in the leadership role but also just being a better me in all aspects; on and off the soccer field. I realized that successes as well as challenges are going to come along the way, it is inevitable. I must celebrate my successes but stay humble while doing so. I must invite challenge into my life as this is what makes someone grow as a person, and prevents the feeling of complacency throughout life. This forum implemented a lot of self reflection and allowed me to sculpt a leadership philosophy as well as take a look at core values that encompass my philosophy. This has been one of the greatest experiences of my life and will influence me as a person whether in the classroom, on the soccer field, how I interact with others, and in my future profession. I am more than lucky to have taken apart in such an amazing event that brought me friends for life, mentors I can lean, and amazing connections with so many people from all around the country. 


 
Ben Schlesselman
Great Midwest
Assistant Commissioner
 
When you glance around the room and take a look at these freshmen and sophomores expressing a hunger and desire to develop their leadership skills and impact their campuses, it serves a reminder of how well rounded these 'kids' (as someone who is 12-13 years older than most) really are.

While mainly Division III, our blue team had Harvard women's soccer, San Francisco men's basketball, Alma swimming and diving, Syracuse ice hockey and many more represented. Everyone sustained the energy and participation level from arrival to departure and it was one of the hardest group settings for us to leave because of bond developed starting with our facilitators Casey Finnell (Lindenwood) and Michael Woo (Indiana). 
 
You saw student-athletes show raw emotion and express that they felt closer to this particular group than even some of their best friends growing up from childhood. There were plenty of laughs as we worked on our crucial conversation skits and you really saw the creativity shine through with everyone's acting skills (some were even Oscar nomination worthy). 
 
The four days served as a time of self-reflection to really evaluate if what you are doing in the present is the most effective. Chris Norton's story is well known - to see him describe the excruciating detail of what he personally went through is just on another level. One of the phrases that Daron Roberts used was a tough one to absorb: 'there is no such thing as balance.' That has been a dynamic I have been striving to achieve for almost 11 years in college athletics.
 
I am thankful for the opportunity to attend and connect with other administrators; the future is very bright with these student-athletes taking the reins. The team at the NCAA put so much planning and thought into making this a memorable experience for everyone involved. 
 
#BlueCrew