UM SAAC hosts Education is Power Event
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami Student-Athlete Advisory Committee presented an informative panel session entitled “The Power of Education” on Monday at in the Bob Mann Auditorium.
The nearly two-hour panel session was put together in celebration of Black History Month and featured a quartet of African-American professionals who gave their insight on the importance of education and preparation for the transition to life after college. Miami Director of Student-Athlete Development Shirelle Jackson moderated a panel that featured criminal defense attorney Hilton Napoleon, II, Esq., FBI special agent S.V. Johnathan O’Neil, University of Miami PhD student Felecia Theune and UM assistant athletic trainer Laura Jackson.
“It means so much more than our traditional educational developmental workshops,” Jackson said. “We had members of a variety of different teams come together and talk about a variety of difficult topics in a respectful and appropriate manner. This event showed that we have a good portion of our student-athlete population that are serious about diversity, education and respect of self.”
Over 50 Hurricane student-athletes took advantage of the opportunity to listen to and engage with panelists whom shared their experience and knowledge with the group. The forum touched on a variety of topics including the Black student-athlete experience, social justice/injustice, the law, law enforcement, communication, diversity and navigating from the classroom to the boardroom.
“We preach a message of continuing to mature and develop and become responsible and productive adults and the response today showed me that they are hearing that message,” Jackson said. “We are privileged to be at such a great academic institution and university community, but they have to do the extra things to prepare themselves to be in careers and advance to leadership roles. I wanted to provide a forum for them to continue to expand in career development, leadership development and in the awareness of the diverse environment that they are in.”
Alexis Wright is the vice president of UM’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. A microbiology major, Wright balances a rigorous course load while competing in track and field and being involved in a variety of extra curricular activities including SAAC. The junior found Monday evening’s panel to be highly informative and beneficial.
“This is one of the most memorable events that I’ve attended on campus,” Wright said. “It’s amazing to see such a diverse group come out to something that initially was focused on Black awareness. It shows that we all have the same goal of successfully transitioning into society and want to be successful after college.”
