In May Bri McClain was selected to represent Cal State Stanislaus at the 2008 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Conference in Orlando Florida. Below is a recap of her experience in her own words.This year's NCAA Leadership Conference was held in beautiful Orlando, Florida. It was held at the Disneyland Yacht Suites right next to Disneyworld! We were each put in a room with one other person from the conference, who also was a student-athlete and leader from their college or university. Directly outside of our room was a pool and small beach, and then out further was The Disney Boardwalk and Downtown Disney. In the evenings and free time, when we weren't in a conference room or forum we were allowed to do whatever we chose to. Most of us spent our free time either hanging out at the beach, shoping in downtown, or walking the boardwalk. On our last night there we had a black and white ball for everyone, including facilitatators, administrators, speakers, and student-athletes. We all dressed very formally, and had really nice dinner and dance to end our final night of the conference. During my time at the conference I met with over 700 of the nations best student-athletes, and a staff of amazing coaches, former student-athletes, and athletic directors. This opportunity was an amazing experience from the beginning, because anytime you put together some the of the most competitive, smartest, and mature athletes in the country your bound to have a powerful experience and very likely to learn something from one another. I learned so much within the small period of time that I was there. We went over important personal values and ways that we could stay true to them. We also learned about leadership and personality styles, and how to understand, lead, and be there for your teammates and peers in the best way possible. We had many discussions pertaining to equality, regarding gender and race. This too made it more of a learning experience because everyone had different opinions and best of all everyone was able to really respect them. The diversity at the conference was incredible, and whether it meant meeting someone from a place you never heard of or talking to an athlete from a sport you never knew existed, everyday we were all learning to both respect and understand the different aspects of the NCAA. This included, discussing Title IX issues, problems with SAAC, budget cuts, division among athletes and students, and various stereotypes placed on student-athletes. The best part of the conference was that we were all brought together for a specific reason. No one was there to compete with one another, or show off where they came from or how good they were. Regardless of Division I, II, III, everyone was humble, respectful, and solely there to meet others, experience the conference, and learn from one another. I was so grateful to have been given the opportunity, and I am very excited to put some of the things I learned there into action on my campus.
