SE: Anderson, Barnes Gain Leadership and Life Skills at 2018 Black Student-Athlete Summit
Jan 25, 2018 | Football, Soccer, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Who is Jade Anderson without soccer? Or Alex Barnes without football?
Both K-State student-athletes discovered more complete answers to these internal questions while at the fourth annual Black Student-Athlete Summit in Austin, Texas, from January 17-19.
"I think a theme overall, not just with the speakers, but the whole conference was, 'As a student-athlete and a black student-athlete, what is your identity outside of that?'" said Anderson, who finished her K-State soccer career last fall. "For me, going into the transition out of playing it's, like, 'Who am I without soccer?' I'm really looking internally and figuring out those different things — What do I like to do? What do I want to do? Who is Jade Anderson without soccer?"
The conference, with more than 50 student-athletes from across the country, consisted of two-and-a-half days of informative sessions that covered anything from preparing for life after sports to promoting mental wellness to activism as student-athletes.
"It's really important, not just for football, but for life in general," Barnes, a junior-to-be for K-State football, said of the experience. "One day I'm not going to have football and I'm going to have to have something to fall back on. Just having an experience like this, it's going to help me out in my future with whatever I decide to do.
The summit's four keynote speakers were Tommie Harris, a retired NFL defensive tackle who talked about his journey after his wife tragically died in 2012; Sanya Richards-Ross, a four-time Olympic gold medalist whose humanitarian work is highly decorated as well; Caylin Moore, a former TCU football player who's attending Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar; and Imani McGee-Stafford, a former Texas women's basketball standout who now uses her past as an abuse survivor to provide a light for those who have been through similar struggles.
"A lot of really wise people and speakers were there to spread their knowledge to us," Barnes said. "Being able to learn from others' experiences, that's really my biggest takeaway from it, to be able to grow off of that."
Anderson, studying marketing at K-State's College of Business Administration, said she came away from all four keynote speeches with a greater understanding of what the transition out of being an athlete will be like.
"That was super impactful," said Anderson, who will graduate in December. "Their messages and their struggles being an athlete, whether at the professional or collegiate level, but also the transition into the next thing, which was really big for me because I'm done playing soccer here."
Barnes, a kinesiology major with two years left to play at K-State, said he brought back an improved leadership mindset from the summit.
"I've really added a focus on inclusion. Despite different backgrounds and differing opinions, especially with how touchy the political climate is lately, just being able to talk about that stuff in the locker room, if we have to, in a professional manner, being able to come to an understanding and not letting differing opinions be what keeps us from reaching our potential," he said. "Listening to all the different speakers that they had and hearing their experiences as leaders and about their environments, I plan to take some of that energy and bring it over here to K-State."
While Anderson's playing eligibility has been used up, she still plans to use what she learned at the conference to help her team. She already met with K-State's coaching staff to discuss certain aspects of the summit that she felt could positively apply to the program entering its third season of existence.
"You definitely feel like, after you get all of this knowledge, that you have to do something with it," she said, "and really try to go back to your campus and create some sort of change."
Anderson and Barnes were the first two Wildcat student-athletes to be sent to this summit, another sign of K-State Athletics' commitment to creating positive change by promoting a diverse and inclusive environment. Last fall, K-State launched its Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Plan. More recently, it organized a Diversity and Inclusion men's basketball game on January 16, and partnered with multiple groups on campus to bring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to speak at Bramlage Coliseum on February 6.
"I think K-State's taking the initiative and they're recognizing that this is something that they want to implement within the athletics department," Anderson said. "I think it was really cool to be able to send two athletes, not only because of what Alex and I can take from it but what we can go back and tell other student-athletes. I think it just means that diversity and inclusion is important at K-State."
Who is Jade Anderson without soccer? Or Alex Barnes without football?
Both K-State student-athletes discovered more complete answers to these internal questions while at the fourth annual Black Student-Athlete Summit in Austin, Texas, from January 17-19.
"I think a theme overall, not just with the speakers, but the whole conference was, 'As a student-athlete and a black student-athlete, what is your identity outside of that?'" said Anderson, who finished her K-State soccer career last fall. "For me, going into the transition out of playing it's, like, 'Who am I without soccer?' I'm really looking internally and figuring out those different things — What do I like to do? What do I want to do? Who is Jade Anderson without soccer?"
The conference, with more than 50 student-athletes from across the country, consisted of two-and-a-half days of informative sessions that covered anything from preparing for life after sports to promoting mental wellness to activism as student-athletes.
"It's really important, not just for football, but for life in general," Barnes, a junior-to-be for K-State football, said of the experience. "One day I'm not going to have football and I'm going to have to have something to fall back on. Just having an experience like this, it's going to help me out in my future with whatever I decide to do.
The summit's four keynote speakers were Tommie Harris, a retired NFL defensive tackle who talked about his journey after his wife tragically died in 2012; Sanya Richards-Ross, a four-time Olympic gold medalist whose humanitarian work is highly decorated as well; Caylin Moore, a former TCU football player who's attending Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar; and Imani McGee-Stafford, a former Texas women's basketball standout who now uses her past as an abuse survivor to provide a light for those who have been through similar struggles.
"A lot of really wise people and speakers were there to spread their knowledge to us," Barnes said. "Being able to learn from others' experiences, that's really my biggest takeaway from it, to be able to grow off of that."
Anderson, studying marketing at K-State's College of Business Administration, said she came away from all four keynote speeches with a greater understanding of what the transition out of being an athlete will be like.
"That was super impactful," said Anderson, who will graduate in December. "Their messages and their struggles being an athlete, whether at the professional or collegiate level, but also the transition into the next thing, which was really big for me because I'm done playing soccer here."
Barnes, a kinesiology major with two years left to play at K-State, said he brought back an improved leadership mindset from the summit.
"I've really added a focus on inclusion. Despite different backgrounds and differing opinions, especially with how touchy the political climate is lately, just being able to talk about that stuff in the locker room, if we have to, in a professional manner, being able to come to an understanding and not letting differing opinions be what keeps us from reaching our potential," he said. "Listening to all the different speakers that they had and hearing their experiences as leaders and about their environments, I plan to take some of that energy and bring it over here to K-State."
While Anderson's playing eligibility has been used up, she still plans to use what she learned at the conference to help her team. She already met with K-State's coaching staff to discuss certain aspects of the summit that she felt could positively apply to the program entering its third season of existence.
"You definitely feel like, after you get all of this knowledge, that you have to do something with it," she said, "and really try to go back to your campus and create some sort of change."
Anderson and Barnes were the first two Wildcat student-athletes to be sent to this summit, another sign of K-State Athletics' commitment to creating positive change by promoting a diverse and inclusive environment. Last fall, K-State launched its Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Plan. More recently, it organized a Diversity and Inclusion men's basketball game on January 16, and partnered with multiple groups on campus to bring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to speak at Bramlage Coliseum on February 6.
"I think K-State's taking the initiative and they're recognizing that this is something that they want to implement within the athletics department," Anderson said. "I think it was really cool to be able to send two athletes, not only because of what Alex and I can take from it but what we can go back and tell other student-athletes. I think it just means that diversity and inclusion is important at K-State."
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