AMCC STUDENTS EXPERIENCE NCAA CONVENTION
For the 15th year in a row, the AMCC was represented by student-athletes at the NCAA Convention, held January 10-13 in Phoenix.
The 2024 class included Shannon Jenkins (La Roche), Christian Zita (Wells), Jamal Harris (Hilbert) and Meghan McCoy (Carlow). Additionally, Tyrone Bowen-Collateta and Abdul Elola represented Pitt-Bradford in the Division III Immersion Program, and Molly Malachow (Penn St. Behrend) attended as the AMCC representative to the D3 National Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
"A trip to the convention is an important education opportunity for our student leaders," said AMCC Commissioner Donna Ledwin. "From the first year we invited students to participate in 2010, it was evident there was a lot they could learn by being present at events like the issues forum and the business session. WheD33re we were the only conference sending students at that time, sending students has been adopted as an important leadership-skills opportunity across D3."
For Zita, a third year member of the Express soccer team, the trip opened his eyes to all the possibilities to engage beyond just playing soccer.
"There were a lot of chances to make connections with different administrators and other leaders within college sports," he shared. "I was able to talk to many of them and hear a lot of stories that have given me a better look at sports management and mental health within sports at the collegiate level."
Jenkins, a sophomore on the Redhawks lacrosse team, was particularly energized by the Special Olympics activity organized by the D3 national SAAC.
"As a special ed major, i try to take advantage of any opportunity i can to work with children with special needs," she explained. "For this event, we got to play all sorts of different games with the kids. I spent my time playing bocce with two kids."
Attending the D3 LGBTQIA+ Awards Reception was a special highlight for McCoy, a sophomore on the Celtics soccer team. She expressed a special interest in the area of diversity and inclusion and hopes to attend the NCAA Inclusion Forum in April.
Harris found the education session on hosting a championship to be eye-opening.
"It is a lot like the NFL picking a city to host the Super Bowl, in which hotels and surrounding location is of the upmost importance," he said. "Some schools are automatically disqualified just on that basic criteria alone. Other important factors like man power through workers and volunteers, locker room space, overall school appearance play important roles."
Bowen-Collateta and Elola were at the convention with a different cohort of student-athletes, but with a very similar goal. As a part of the D3 Student Immersion Program, they received a fully funded trip to the convention with peers from D3 institutions across the country. They received DiSC training related to workplace performance, with additional programming to improve their skill set in the areas of teamwork, communication, and productivity. For this group, their goal is to enter a career in athletics.
“This is an opportunity many don’t receive,” said Elola, a sport management major. “I hope that I can let everyone know that playing sports is not the only way to stay involved and that being your true, authentic self will help you attain your ultimate goals.”
Malachow was deeply involved with the national SAAC in advocating for amendments to the proposed Division III philosophy statement. She supported her peers in advocating that "athletics is primarily a four-year undergraduate experience that promotes a student-first mentality and emphasizes finishing a degree in a timely manner." She emphasized that this language is not intended to exclude nontraditional or four-plus year students, just that it was primarily intended as a four year experience. The amendment passed.