The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- June 21, 1999

What did the Browns learn ?

"I've been working with student-athletes for 22 years, and I think this is the first time I've been in a situation where they've assembled this many incredible, motivated people. Sometimes I don't think we realize what incredible leaders we have on our own campuses. This conference would be a real education for prominent coaches and athletics directors, just to see how articulate and mature these student-athletes are."

Bob Bradley
Associate athletics director
University of Kentucky

"They say that to teach is to learn twice. Well, I learned! The kids on the Brown team were honest, they took risks, they thought out of the box, and they supported one another. I think they all made great strides. Facilitating is like coaching. You can't do it for them, but you can give them the tools. They were eager to learn the theory and put it to practice, then take it to reality.The true test will be if they get involved on campus and then reach out into their communities and build bridges, bridges that go beyond the finish line. I am hopeful that they will."

Rebecca Gigli
Assistant athletics director for academic services
Drexel University

"Basically, I'm taking home a lot of new leadership skills. I always knew I was a leader somehow, but I didn't know my weak points. We had a chance to assess our skills and really work on our weak points."

Millicent Sylvan
Student-athlete
Alcorn State University

"I learned that you have to stay back and let others lead sometimes. You can be contributing to the process but you don't necessarily have to be the one talking. Before, I was so focused on my strength, Challenging the process, that I didn't see that others were standing there waiting to help me."

Mirna Hernandez
Student-athlete
San Diego State University

"I think I was expecting just a rowdy and noisy group of student-athletes. But what I found out is that there are 280 student-athletes who really do care, who really do understand what the issues are and who are really serious about making a difference. That really surprised me. I'm not the type of person who gets up and makes a lot of noise, but I realized that I can let it out and interact with a whole group of diverse people and bond with them and learn from them."

John Lowry
Student-athlete
Brigham Young University