Bush, Vanno To Attend 2013 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum

AURORA, N.Y. – Senior student-athletes Lindsey Bush (Averill Park, N.Y.) and Brittany Vanno (Whitesboro, N.Y.) were selected to join more than 350 student-athletes from around the Northeast attending the annual NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum in Providence, R.I. from Thursday, Nov. 7 to Sunday, Nov. 10.

Identified as leaders on their campuses, Bush and Vanno were nominated by Coordinator of Student-Athlete Development Mike O’Brien and selected by the NCAA to attend this event, one of the largest non-competitive gatherings of NCAA student-athletes representing their colleges and universities.

“Lindsey and Brittany, who both serve as Student-Athlete Advisory Committee officers for Wells College, are excellent representatives from the College at the forum,” said O’Brien. “They have both actively participated in SAAC activities and have been leaders on and off the courts and fields during their four year playing careers. I know that they will bring the skills learned back to campus with them, to the benefit of our student-athletes.”

The Student-Athlete Leadership Forum was designed for student-athletes to discuss key issues collectively and provide them with an opportunity to enhance personal awareness and leadership skills needed to positively impact their development at the campus and conference levels, as well as beyond the collegiate realm.

“The NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum is another type of educational setting that helps our student-athletes develop into more effective leaders and gets their thought process in motion, which can help them on campus and even after they graduate,” said Curtis J. Hollomon, NCAA Director of Leadership Development.

“It also allows them to communicate more on key topics of interest to them and to share best practices, while getting to know one another aside from competition.  They then take ideas back to their Student-Athlete Advisory Committees and the results end up helping a wider range of student-athletes.”

Throughout the Leadership Forum, representatives from NCAA member schools will lead small group discussions about a variety of topics such as branding, social media, decision-making, emotional intelligence and values. This will help the student-athletes become more effective leaders and motivators when they return to their campuses. 

The student-athletes will also hear from several speakers including Chris Herren, former NBA player and founder of Hoop Dreams and The Herren Project, about decision-making. They will also hear from Rayna DuBose, a former basketball student-athlete about facing adversity. Additionally, participants will hear from keynote speaker Sam Davidson, president and co-founder of Cool People Care, about leadership lessons that he learned at a young age.

To gain a better understanding of the NCAA association-wide and division-specific structures and committees, participants will also learn from peer representatives on the NCAA National Student-Athlete Advisory Committees as well as NCAA governance staff. During these sessions, participants will learn about the NCAA legislative process and discuss current hot topics.