INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Morgan Smith, a senior on this year's women's basketball team, and Logan Engle, a sophomore on the football team, recently had the opportunity to attend the NCAA Student-Athlete Career in Sports Forum held last week at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The forum highlighted potential career paths in sports and emphasized the attendees' professional and personal development. Smith and Engle were nominated at the university level first before they were selected to attend by the NCAA.
The Career in Sports Forum gave Smith and Engle an immersive opportunity to "level up" through a multitude of networking, inspirational speakers, informative career advice and more from current professionals in the pro sports and collegiate athletics world.
They participated in industry-specific breakouts and personal development sessions and heard from keynote speakers, including sessions from Yolett McPhee-McCuin, the Ole Miss women's basketball coach, and Lacee Carmon-Johnson, manager of basketball advancement for the Toronto Raptors.
"It was a life changing experience," said Smith after arriving back from Indiana. "To have been able to be at the NCAA headquarters was surreal. I met so many incredible leaders that spoke life into me and didn't realize how many opportunities there were in this industry. The forum opened my eyes to being more than just a student-athlete and I'm excited to take the values I learned and embrace them. I also met so many wonderful other student-athletes who pushed me to think deeper into my passion of sports and now have lifelong connections!"
Engle was one of five student-athletes the NCAA featured in the post-event write up. He was quoted as saying "For the introverted people, it was good because this was pushing you in that direction to be interactive. You aren't going to grow, learn or understand if you don't reach out to people."
He thought he wanted to work in sports but wasn't sure where or how. The transferable skills conversation helped Engle realize his strengths and think of other avenues besides coaching. He had a conversation with an NCAA staff member who helps run championship events, and it captured his interest in the operations work of putting on a large event. A self-described introvert, Engle challenged himself to make the most of his opportunity.
The pair of Bulldogs were two of just 200 chosen to attend the forum throughout all divisions of the NCAA.
