(Contributed by Chris Stewart, MIAA SAAC Coordinator)
Student-athletes from seven MIAA schools participated in the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum (SALF) recently in Orlando, Fla.
Student-athletes from Albion, Calvin, Hope, Kalamazoo, Olivet, Saint Mary’s and Trine attended the April 9th-12th forum. The NCAA SALF is designed to break down barriers, introduce leadership concepts and allow student-athletes to keep open minds so they may grow and develop their teams and institutions.
The entire weekend was filled with intense social settings, speakers and networking with fellow student-athletes and administrators from colleges throughout the country, ranging from Division I to Division III. There were many powerful moments from when Dr. Derek Greenfield, who will be joining the MIAA for the conference SAAC meeting on May 19, created a rainstorm in a closed room to listening to Paralympic track athlete April Holmes and her gold medal experience.
Olivet’s Mona Hinamanu and Greg Petty considered the forum to be "life-changing." Some student-athletes found it to be more energizing, entertaining and worth more of their time than spring break. Student-athletes developed lasting friendships that transcended their conference rivalries, such as between Albion’s Travell Oakes and Hope’s Brock Benson.
"Brock and I developed a bond, a friendship I'll have once we're done playing basketball, It was a nice opportunity to get to know Brock without having his basketball jersey. It is funny how we went from being rivals (on the court) to telling him things I thought I would never tell him," Oakes said.
All who attended believe they felt more empowered to lead their schools toward the future. "This is an experience in which our entire conference can enjoy and help build stronger cross-conference relationships," Kalamazoo administrator and coach Katie Miller said.
Caroline Hannema, an administrator and coach at Hope, agrees.
"It was a humbling experience to attend the NCAA student-athlete leadership forum and represent Hope College," Hannema said. "Throughout the weekend, I was inspired to hear from so many student-athletes who have the desire to lead on their teams and impact their campus community. I was reminded of the important influence we have as coaches and I hope that the lessons I learned will help me make a difference at Hope."
SALF was an opportunity which only comes along every three years for regional Division III schools.
