SE: Trio of Wildcats Gain a Great Deal from NCAA Career in Sports Forum
Jun 17, 2019 | Sports Extra, Evans Student-Athlete Success Program
By Corbin McGuire
Chloe Weir, Kennedy Felice and Elaina Grantham are all at different points of life.
Weir starts her redshirt senior season for K-State women's golf this fall. Felice and Grantham both just finished their final year with K-State rowing. Felice, however, will soon begin a graduate assistant position in K-State Athletics, helping with student-athlete development programs, while Grantham will join the workforce full time.
Still, all three Wildcats share a passion, if not an extreme interest, for a future career in college athletics. It's no surprise then that all three relished in the opportunity to be among the 200 student-athletes across all Divisions to attend the NCAA Career in Sports Forum on June 6-9 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
"I was over the moon," Weir said of her reaction to being accepted. "I think it was really beneficial to be around like-minded people who really envisioned enhancing the student-athlete experience."
"There was so much that I gained from it," added Grantham.
The four-day, annual educational forum is "designed to assist student-athletes in charting their career paths, as well as provide an opportunity to network and learn from current athletics professionals," an NCAA press release stated.
It continued to state, "The cutting-edge topics covered by industry experts include: how personal values intersect with career opportunities, how behavioral styles impact individual effectiveness, the key professional and career development information to assist with transition from a student-athlete to a professional, and the role of the college coach or athletics administrator. Participants will network with peers, as well as key decision-makers at the campus, conference and national level of college athletics."
In terms of topics that stood out from the forum, all three Wildcats pointed immediately to mental health. Chris Carr, a sport performance psychologist who's worked with professional teams in the NBA and NFL, as well as for Power Five colleges, was one of the main figures in the session dedicated to this topic.
"The NCAA and a lot of conferences have been able to make really great progress in the resources available, the people available and the dedication to addressing mental health in athletes, but it was also awesome to hear the work that's being done to help us continue to progress forward," Felice said. "I think we're all realizing that there doesn't have to be this stigma. We can do something about it."
Each Wildcat had individual takeaways from the forum as well.
Grantham, for instance, came to realize the vast amount of opportunities available in college athletics. While she holds hopes to coach someday, she learned of other possibilities that stretch from compliance to administrative roles, from jobs across Division I to Division III, as well as careers in athletic departments to conference offices and even the NCAA.
Felice found that a lot of skills and strengths she's developed as a student-athlete, like teamwork and adaptability, will easily translate to the workforce. Additionally, she and Grantham redefined what networking means to them.
"Networking, to me, had this big intimidating aura around it, where it felt like you had to meet a person and immediately be, like, 'Tell me your life story. Here's how I can help you. How can you help me?'" Felice said. "Really, it's just communicating with people, being a genuinely good person, working hard, and showing up when an opportunity comes up. That's networking."
Additionally, Felice's mind was eased when it came to the future. Entering her first year outside the student-athlete realm, she said she's unsure of where she wants to end up in college athletics. That used to bother her. Now, not so much.
"I know I want to work in athletics. I know I want to help people. So, I'm passionate about continuing to help student-athletes realize their potential, but I think I've realized now that there are so many ways that I can do that and there are so many different options and opportunities to get there," she said. "It was very comforting and exciting to learn that I have a lot of different options I can explore."
Weir, the lone Wildcat at the forum with eligibility remaining, learned a great deal about herself at the forum. She did so largely through a DISC assessment, a personality test meant to help people better understand themselves and to adapt their behaviors to work more effectively with others.
Weir said it's one main item she hopes to bring back as her team's only senior this fall.
"I'm hoping that's something we get to do here at K-State," the native of Belfast, Northern Ireland said. "With this conference under my belt, I think it will really help me help the team, the coaches and allow me to be the liaison in between. I'm just really trying to be the best for the team and be a leader from what I've learned at the conference."
Chloe Weir, Kennedy Felice and Elaina Grantham are all at different points of life.
Weir starts her redshirt senior season for K-State women's golf this fall. Felice and Grantham both just finished their final year with K-State rowing. Felice, however, will soon begin a graduate assistant position in K-State Athletics, helping with student-athlete development programs, while Grantham will join the workforce full time.
Still, all three Wildcats share a passion, if not an extreme interest, for a future career in college athletics. It's no surprise then that all three relished in the opportunity to be among the 200 student-athletes across all Divisions to attend the NCAA Career in Sports Forum on June 6-9 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
"I was over the moon," Weir said of her reaction to being accepted. "I think it was really beneficial to be around like-minded people who really envisioned enhancing the student-athlete experience."
"There was so much that I gained from it," added Grantham.
The four-day, annual educational forum is "designed to assist student-athletes in charting their career paths, as well as provide an opportunity to network and learn from current athletics professionals," an NCAA press release stated.
It continued to state, "The cutting-edge topics covered by industry experts include: how personal values intersect with career opportunities, how behavioral styles impact individual effectiveness, the key professional and career development information to assist with transition from a student-athlete to a professional, and the role of the college coach or athletics administrator. Participants will network with peers, as well as key decision-makers at the campus, conference and national level of college athletics."
In terms of topics that stood out from the forum, all three Wildcats pointed immediately to mental health. Chris Carr, a sport performance psychologist who's worked with professional teams in the NBA and NFL, as well as for Power Five colleges, was one of the main figures in the session dedicated to this topic.
"The NCAA and a lot of conferences have been able to make really great progress in the resources available, the people available and the dedication to addressing mental health in athletes, but it was also awesome to hear the work that's being done to help us continue to progress forward," Felice said. "I think we're all realizing that there doesn't have to be this stigma. We can do something about it."
Each Wildcat had individual takeaways from the forum as well.
Grantham, for instance, came to realize the vast amount of opportunities available in college athletics. While she holds hopes to coach someday, she learned of other possibilities that stretch from compliance to administrative roles, from jobs across Division I to Division III, as well as careers in athletic departments to conference offices and even the NCAA.
Felice found that a lot of skills and strengths she's developed as a student-athlete, like teamwork and adaptability, will easily translate to the workforce. Additionally, she and Grantham redefined what networking means to them.
"Networking, to me, had this big intimidating aura around it, where it felt like you had to meet a person and immediately be, like, 'Tell me your life story. Here's how I can help you. How can you help me?'" Felice said. "Really, it's just communicating with people, being a genuinely good person, working hard, and showing up when an opportunity comes up. That's networking."
Additionally, Felice's mind was eased when it came to the future. Entering her first year outside the student-athlete realm, she said she's unsure of where she wants to end up in college athletics. That used to bother her. Now, not so much.
"I know I want to work in athletics. I know I want to help people. So, I'm passionate about continuing to help student-athletes realize their potential, but I think I've realized now that there are so many ways that I can do that and there are so many different options and opportunities to get there," she said. "It was very comforting and exciting to learn that I have a lot of different options I can explore."
Weir, the lone Wildcat at the forum with eligibility remaining, learned a great deal about herself at the forum. She did so largely through a DISC assessment, a personality test meant to help people better understand themselves and to adapt their behaviors to work more effectively with others.
Weir said it's one main item she hopes to bring back as her team's only senior this fall.
"I'm hoping that's something we get to do here at K-State," the native of Belfast, Northern Ireland said. "With this conference under my belt, I think it will really help me help the team, the coaches and allow me to be the liaison in between. I'm just really trying to be the best for the team and be a leader from what I've learned at the conference."
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