Fall 2016 NECC Student-athlete Retreat at Wheelock College
ATTLEBORO, Mass. – This past Sunday, November 13th, the New England Collegiate Conference held its fall Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Leadership event at Wheelock College in Boston, Mass.
The SAAC Event aimed to teach the student athletes about the opportunity that their leadership can have on diversity and inclusion across athletics and in life.
The day started with a presentation by the Center for Sports and Society at Northeastern University. The program was organized and facilitated by Kajana Rose, Associate Director of Operations and also Carl Barrows. Through different exercises the students were able to share their views on leadership, the challenges that it causes, and recognize the different interpretations and leadership styles.
At first, they were asked to define leadership as well as what a great leader consisted of. Later in the discussion they interacted by playing "agree, disagree, unsure," Asking vague questions the students had to decide what the statement meant to them. They were then challenged to explain their stance. The challenge showed to students that often times there is more than even two sides to a situation.
The meeting concluded with the students sharing their institutional experiences on SAAC as well as planning for future NECC SAAC events.
"Attending the NECC SAAC Conference was eye opening and rewarding. The event allowed a platform to discuss multiple aspects of leadership, including the unavoidable hardships, among a diverse group of student athletes. The ability to attend this event should be seen as both an honor and a learning opportunity." - Maresa Malcolm, Regis
"It was informative, the meeting as a whole was broken up well and interactive... I have a better understanding of how many different types of leadership people can portray." Paige Vitale, Southern Vermont. "The meeting was great I learned a lot from it. The group based discussion was very productive. I think we had a great group of people there and the time was spent well. I also think this type of activity allows you to see other schools as more then opponents." - Marc Brandmeyer, Southern Vermont.
"The meeting was a great learning experience that I hope each member was able to take away something in order to expand the programs that we are a part of." - Colin Marie, Wheelock.
"NECC SAAC conference meeting on Sunday was a fantastic way for members of all 10 NECC institutions to come together and really hear from one another on the topic of diversity and inclusion in the development of leadership. It was a tremendous opportunity for student-athletes and advisors to hear about individual experiences from each conference institution and how they view a leadership role on their campus." - Chelsea Shaughnessy, Mitchell.
– Story Courtesy of NECC Sports Information