As an attendee at the NCAA Division III Regional Leadership Conference in January, I was impressed with the size, organization and success of the event, and with how much I learned from other student-athletes, coaches, faculty members and NCAA staff.

Topics ranged from faculty and student-athlete relationships to improving the SAAC programs on our respective campuses. The conference helped me gain perspective on how to become a leader, not just on my sports team or within the athletics department but in all areas of campus life. A perceived separation between athletics and the rest of the campus community can be detrimental to the growth of each group. The Leadership Conference helped us sort through that conflict of integration by emphasizing collaboration over division.

Many of the discussions focused on ways in which we can create a two-way bond between athletics programs and the rest of the campus. The perception might be that athletics and education at the college level exist separately. But the fact is that the role of faculty and coaches is the same: to help students become life-long learners in a highly integrated world. The relationship between the two can be distant — some say faculty don’t support athletics enough, while others say coaches and athletes don’t respect the academic infrastructure. What both need to realize is that the goal of almost everyone at the institution, whether they are coaches, professors, administrators, ADs or even presidents, is to provide an environment in which student-athletes can develop the skills necessary for success in the real world.

At the conference, I learned about programs among student-athletes, coaches, administrators and professors that lead to a mutual understanding of the benefits that can be achieved for all.

Regarding the “closing of the gap” between athletes and other students, the conference highlighted the importance of two-way input. As athletes, we should not expect other campus organizations to support us unless we take time and effort to support their activities as well. It is not a one-sided coin. The conference engraved into my mind that one group needs to step up and initiate the change. Activities and discussions at the conference motivated us to lead the way toward greater participation for both groups upon our return to campus.

While that was a valuable learning, perhaps the most significant takeaway from the conference is that not every leader is born that way; rather, each of us has the ability to develop the necessary skills to be effective. We can change the way we interact with our teammates. We can alter how we act in competition and in the classroom. We can improve others around us and ultimately achieve success for ourselves.

Leaders often gain respect when successful, but they also must respect others. Leadership is a cognitive process that we can learn during our respective life journeys, primarily through communication and action. Each of us has the voice to make a change, but it is up to the individual to make the decision to use that voice publicly. We can take advantage of our abilities, both innate and learned, to be leaders and help guide others, including teammates, other student-athletes, non-athletes, faculty, staff and the community at large, to success during and after our college experience.

Laura Burnett-Kurie is a soccer student-athlete at William Smith College.