USF Student-Athlete Leadership Academy Makes More Progress in Year Two
March 20, 2020 | Student-Athlete Enhancement
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, MARCH 20, 2020 – USF's Student-Athlete Leadership Academy built on a very successful start in 2018-19 by making more notable progress in the second year of the valuable development program.
USF's beneficial enhancement project covering important aspects of leadership saw an increase in student-athlete participation and the number of educational sessions that spanned over the fall 2019 and spring 2020 semesters. Back on March 5, more than 20 Bulls from numerous sports programs attended the Student-Athlete Leadership Summit that served as a culmination of the Leadership Academy's latest efforts.
"One of the most unique things about our Leadership Academy is that the cohort gets the opportunity to create content and facilitate for their peers at the Leadership Summit," said program director Tayler Onion, USF's Assistant Director for Student-Athlete Enhancement. "This year's cohort really took ownership of that aspect of the Academy. They've been engaged and eager to learn since Day One, and I think that really showed at the Summit."
Diversity, Inclusion and Responsibility was a new session topic on the agenda for the 16 recent Academy graduates along with program staples like identity, emotional intelligence, building communication skills, conflict management and accountability. Thirty Bulls have participated in the program the past two academic years and were recommended by Student-Athlete Enhancement, head coaches, academic advisors and administrators.
"My experience in the Leadership Academy has been great," said Janvhi Clark, a senior on the women's tennis team. "I've learned a lot about myself, about ways I can apply leadership with my teammates and also got perspective from other teams on how they deal with issues or conflicts inside their own team. It's really helped me evolve as a teammate and I'm just really thankful for the experience."
In addition to Clark, the Leadership Academy's most recent class included fellow NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representatives Adrian Billhardt (men's soccer), CC Clausen (volleyball), Brittany Krug (track and field), and Meghan Sheehan (softball). This academic year's cohort also featured AnaMarie Bruni (softball), Chyanne Dennis (women's soccer), Henrique Gallina (men's soccer), Luke Gifford (men's golf), Jasmine Haynes (softball), Luke Lafferty (track and field), Jessica O'Bryan (cross country/track and field), Zion Roland (football), Virginia Ware (sailing), Michael Wiggs (football) and Selin Yaylali (women's tennis).
"The biggest thing I've learned would easily be the fact that there's more to being a leader than telling somebody what to do," said Wiggs, an offensive lineman heading into his senior football season. "Leadership takes on such a much larger role, influencing those around you and pointing them in the right direction as well as holding yourself accountable in a variety of ways. I think being a leader is going about things the right way and bringing people along with you."
Wiggs and the recent cohort proudly put what they learned over the course of the academic year to practice during the 2020 Leadership Summit earlier this month inside the Lee Roy Selmon Athletics Center.
"It has been fun to watch the Academy participants grow as people and leaders the past couple of years," Onion said. "Both cohorts have been so willing to help us continue to grow the program by way of feedback and recruiting their peers for the Summit. We made some tweaks this year based on feedback from last year's cohort, and we'll do the same with the feedback from this year's group. The student-athletes who participate in the Academy have a direct impact on the experience of future participants, and I think that is really cool."
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics sponsors 19 varsity men's and women's teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls' athletic program began in 1965 and is in its 54th season in 2019-20. Nearly 450 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls have claimed 19 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, and own 120 conference titles overall. Eleven USF programs reached national postseason competition in the 2018-19 season and six were ranked in the Top 25 nationally. The Bulls posted a combined annual grade-point average over 3.0 for the fourth straight year in 2018-19 and have posted a program record 10 straight semesters with a combined GPA over 3.0. USF has had 309 student-athletes earn their degree since 2016-17.
Follow USF Athletics on Twitter (@USFAthletics) and Facebook for all the latest information concerning the USF Athletic program.
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, MARCH 20, 2020 – USF's Student-Athlete Leadership Academy built on a very successful start in 2018-19 by making more notable progress in the second year of the valuable development program.
USF's beneficial enhancement project covering important aspects of leadership saw an increase in student-athlete participation and the number of educational sessions that spanned over the fall 2019 and spring 2020 semesters. Back on March 5, more than 20 Bulls from numerous sports programs attended the Student-Athlete Leadership Summit that served as a culmination of the Leadership Academy's latest efforts.
"One of the most unique things about our Leadership Academy is that the cohort gets the opportunity to create content and facilitate for their peers at the Leadership Summit," said program director Tayler Onion, USF's Assistant Director for Student-Athlete Enhancement. "This year's cohort really took ownership of that aspect of the Academy. They've been engaged and eager to learn since Day One, and I think that really showed at the Summit."Diversity, Inclusion and Responsibility was a new session topic on the agenda for the 16 recent Academy graduates along with program staples like identity, emotional intelligence, building communication skills, conflict management and accountability. Thirty Bulls have participated in the program the past two academic years and were recommended by Student-Athlete Enhancement, head coaches, academic advisors and administrators.
"My experience in the Leadership Academy has been great," said Janvhi Clark, a senior on the women's tennis team. "I've learned a lot about myself, about ways I can apply leadership with my teammates and also got perspective from other teams on how they deal with issues or conflicts inside their own team. It's really helped me evolve as a teammate and I'm just really thankful for the experience."In addition to Clark, the Leadership Academy's most recent class included fellow NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representatives Adrian Billhardt (men's soccer), CC Clausen (volleyball), Brittany Krug (track and field), and Meghan Sheehan (softball). This academic year's cohort also featured AnaMarie Bruni (softball), Chyanne Dennis (women's soccer), Henrique Gallina (men's soccer), Luke Gifford (men's golf), Jasmine Haynes (softball), Luke Lafferty (track and field), Jessica O'Bryan (cross country/track and field), Zion Roland (football), Virginia Ware (sailing), Michael Wiggs (football) and Selin Yaylali (women's tennis).
"The biggest thing I've learned would easily be the fact that there's more to being a leader than telling somebody what to do," said Wiggs, an offensive lineman heading into his senior football season. "Leadership takes on such a much larger role, influencing those around you and pointing them in the right direction as well as holding yourself accountable in a variety of ways. I think being a leader is going about things the right way and bringing people along with you."Wiggs and the recent cohort proudly put what they learned over the course of the academic year to practice during the 2020 Leadership Summit earlier this month inside the Lee Roy Selmon Athletics Center.
"It has been fun to watch the Academy participants grow as people and leaders the past couple of years," Onion said. "Both cohorts have been so willing to help us continue to grow the program by way of feedback and recruiting their peers for the Summit. We made some tweaks this year based on feedback from last year's cohort, and we'll do the same with the feedback from this year's group. The student-athletes who participate in the Academy have a direct impact on the experience of future participants, and I think that is really cool."
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics sponsors 19 varsity men's and women's teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls' athletic program began in 1965 and is in its 54th season in 2019-20. Nearly 450 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls have claimed 19 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, and own 120 conference titles overall. Eleven USF programs reached national postseason competition in the 2018-19 season and six were ranked in the Top 25 nationally. The Bulls posted a combined annual grade-point average over 3.0 for the fourth straight year in 2018-19 and have posted a program record 10 straight semesters with a combined GPA over 3.0. USF has had 309 student-athletes earn their degree since 2016-17.
Follow USF Athletics on Twitter (@USFAthletics) and Facebook for all the latest information concerning the USF Athletic program.
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