WILMINGTON, North Carolina – UNCW's Ryan Hunt (men's track and field) and Makaya Parham (women's soccer) recently had the opportunity to discuss leadership topics and issues on both the conference and national scales with other student-athletes from Colonial Athletic Association schools.
The pair of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) leaders traveled to Richmond, Va., for the CAA's SAAC Leadership Summit. It marked the 11th year that UNCW has sent participants to the event. Jaime Mangold, academic coordinator and director of student-athlete development, escorted the UNCW student-athletes to the gathering.
Hunt and Parham took part in multiple activities over the three-day span, including a discussion by sports psychologist Dr. Jarrod Spencer about the importance of sleep for student-athletes.
"The event was great because it was engaging and informative," said Parham. "I enjoyed all the activities and people I met throughout the weekend. I gained a lot from attending the summit."
In addition to the sessions, the group visited the Virginia Holocaust Museum and penned encouraging letters to terminally ill children.
On the last day of the summit, a business session was held, allowing student-athletes to discuss different initiatives the UNCW SAAC and CAA SAAC will implement during the upcoming year. Parham and Hunt bonded with their counterparts collected ideas and initiatives to bring back to UNCW.
"The closeness that the group created in such a short time really stood out to me," said Hunt. "Makaya and I really valued our time and represented UNCW the best we could in the conversations and the fun competitions.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Richmond and would do it again if given the opportunity. I got to meet many cool and intriguing people, who I plan to stay in touch with."
