ANDERSON, IN - Anderson University student-athletes Megan Morency (Yorktown, IN/Yorktown High School) and Sammy Faulkner (Dayton, OH/Butler High School), and Head Women's Soccer Coach Jennifer Myhre joined more than 300 NCAA student-athletes, coaches, and administrators in Orlando for the annual NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum.
 
The Forum was created to give the student-athletes a learning opportunity outside their campus to help them develop as leaders in their communities and on their teams. As Curtis J. Hollomon, NCAA director of leadership develop, stated the student-athlete leadership forum "ultimately prepares them for life after their collegiate playing days are over. Providing student-athletes with the opportunity to learn about the NCAA, to interact with their peers on a national level, and to give back to a community is a key way we can enhance the student-athlete experience and make it even more meaningful to these leaders.  It also provides a pipeline when the leaders return to campus and share what they learned at the forum."

During the forum, the student-athletes were separated into small teams for team building, leadership discussions on personal values/visions, effective communication, and conflict management. Partnering with the Orlando Community Food and Outreach Center, the students also packed backpacks with school supplies for local students and helped with a can drive.
 
The students were further inspired by three-time Track and Field Paralympian April Holmes, who stressed to not let your problems make you limp through life, but instead get up and run no matter how impossible it may seem. Mark Everett, three-time Olympian, then challenged the students to "not wait for tomorrow to be great, as you're great right now."
 
The NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum has been in existence since 1997 and has been a life-changing experience for nearly 5,000 student-athletes. The forum helps student-athletes develop their professional networks and learn how athletics prepares them for the game of life.
 
More photos of the event can be found at https://twitter.com/search?q=%23SALeaders&src=hash&mode=photos