North Carolina State University Athletics
Student-Athletes Take Part in Statewide Conference
3/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
Student-athletes often get pegged as not being involved in activities outside of their sport. This is one of the biggest myths in college sports today. In fact, at NC State there is a ground swell of student-athletes finding their own way to a number of campus and community activities that support their academic, career and personal development. This article features three of those student-athletes.
February 13, 2008 marked the Tenth Annual North Carolina Campus Compact Conference, hosted by Elon University. The conference brings together hundreds of North Carolina college and university faculty, staff, and students committed to civic engagement.
This year, Nadia Aboulhosn (Soph., Women’s Soccer), Brian O’Boyle (Soph., Wrestling), and Keri DeMar (Soph., Women’s Volleyball), gave a presentation titled, “Student-Athletes: Making a Connection to Service Learning.” They discussed service-learning skills they have developed through their participation in the Wolfpack Middle School Leadership Conference, General H. Hugh Shelton Leadership Challenge Summer Institute, and the Wolfpack Student-Athlete Development Program.
Women’s soccer coach Laura Kerrigan emphasis to all her players how important it is to engage in involvement within ones community.
"Nadia is such a great example of a student-athlete who is giving back to the community,” said Kerrigan. “She is also heavily involved in the local chapter of the Big Brother/Big Sister Organization. This just shows what a tremendous person she is, in addition to being a fantastic soccer player."
The students’ session at Elon engaged participants with questions concerning the obstacles campuses face with getting student-athletes involved in activities outside of sport. Session attendees reported that class; practice and competition schedules hinder student-athletes from connecting, as well as over-controlling coaches and fatigue. The presentation revealed how NC State has overcome such perceived obstacles by seeking values-based partnerships and allowing student-athletes to take ownership of planning, development, delivery, and evaluation of the initiative.
They shared how their participation in service learning has impacted their academic, career, and personal growth. When asked how their leadership skills have been employed, Nadia shared that she is finding confidence in using her leadership style as a member of her teams newly formed leadership council; Brian shared that even though he is injured, he hopes he has been able to share insights to help his teammates achieve their goals through encouragement and one-on-one conversations with team members who are viewed as leaders on the team; and Keri added that she has been able to improve her public speaking skills.
The students co-presented with Dr. Debbie Reno, coordinator for programs and training with the General H. Hugh Shelton Leadership Center at NC State, and Demetrius Marlowe, assistant director of Academic Support Programs for Student-Athletes and coordinator of Partnerships and Development at NC State.
Marlowe added, “Many college students believe that their dream job will require a high grade point average and graduation from a popular academic program in a tier-one research university. While this may be true in some instances it is becoming more prevalent that the student who has successfully navigated the university experience and demonstrated values-based leadership in some capacity will find not only gainful employment, but also satisfaction from depositing humanitarian contributions that uplift the downtrodden and extinguish the plight of the less fortunate.”
“As NC State student-athletes like Brian, Keri, and Nadia lead the way, it is critically important that the athletics community continue to make connections and leverage opportunities for current and future Wolfpackers who are willing and able to advance knowledge and transform lives."
A similar piece, written by Demetrius Marlowe, originally ran in a recent issue of SYNC, a newsletter by the Division of Undergraduate Academic Programs.
February 13, 2008 marked the Tenth Annual North Carolina Campus Compact Conference, hosted by Elon University. The conference brings together hundreds of North Carolina college and university faculty, staff, and students committed to civic engagement.
This year, Nadia Aboulhosn (Soph., Women’s Soccer), Brian O’Boyle (Soph., Wrestling), and Keri DeMar (Soph., Women’s Volleyball), gave a presentation titled, “Student-Athletes: Making a Connection to Service Learning.” They discussed service-learning skills they have developed through their participation in the Wolfpack Middle School Leadership Conference, General H. Hugh Shelton Leadership Challenge Summer Institute, and the Wolfpack Student-Athlete Development Program.
Women’s soccer coach Laura Kerrigan emphasis to all her players how important it is to engage in involvement within ones community.
"Nadia is such a great example of a student-athlete who is giving back to the community,” said Kerrigan. “She is also heavily involved in the local chapter of the Big Brother/Big Sister Organization. This just shows what a tremendous person she is, in addition to being a fantastic soccer player."
The students’ session at Elon engaged participants with questions concerning the obstacles campuses face with getting student-athletes involved in activities outside of sport. Session attendees reported that class; practice and competition schedules hinder student-athletes from connecting, as well as over-controlling coaches and fatigue. The presentation revealed how NC State has overcome such perceived obstacles by seeking values-based partnerships and allowing student-athletes to take ownership of planning, development, delivery, and evaluation of the initiative.
They shared how their participation in service learning has impacted their academic, career, and personal growth. When asked how their leadership skills have been employed, Nadia shared that she is finding confidence in using her leadership style as a member of her teams newly formed leadership council; Brian shared that even though he is injured, he hopes he has been able to share insights to help his teammates achieve their goals through encouragement and one-on-one conversations with team members who are viewed as leaders on the team; and Keri added that she has been able to improve her public speaking skills.
The students co-presented with Dr. Debbie Reno, coordinator for programs and training with the General H. Hugh Shelton Leadership Center at NC State, and Demetrius Marlowe, assistant director of Academic Support Programs for Student-Athletes and coordinator of Partnerships and Development at NC State.
Marlowe added, “Many college students believe that their dream job will require a high grade point average and graduation from a popular academic program in a tier-one research university. While this may be true in some instances it is becoming more prevalent that the student who has successfully navigated the university experience and demonstrated values-based leadership in some capacity will find not only gainful employment, but also satisfaction from depositing humanitarian contributions that uplift the downtrodden and extinguish the plight of the less fortunate.”
“As NC State student-athletes like Brian, Keri, and Nadia lead the way, it is critically important that the athletics community continue to make connections and leverage opportunities for current and future Wolfpackers who are willing and able to advance knowledge and transform lives."
A similar piece, written by Demetrius Marlowe, originally ran in a recent issue of SYNC, a newsletter by the Division of Undergraduate Academic Programs.
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