CHARLOTTE, NC – Daemen's Kitsa Scime, District of Columbia's Emmanuela Katou Kouami, and Mercy's Connor Ruland represented the East Coast Conference at the 2024 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum (SALF) in Charlotte, NC from November 21-24. Created in 1997, the NCAA's SALF has served as a life-changing experience for more than 5,000 student-athletes who have grown personally and professionally as a result of their attendance.
"I thoroughly enjoyed attending SALF, and I would like to thank the ECC and Daemen for the incredible opportunity," said Scime, a senior member of the Daemen women's tennis squad. "From the moment I arrived, everyone was so friendly, which made networking and relationship-building quite easy and fun! One of my favorite parts was decorating our Visual Representation Journey Block. Each side of the block had a different theme we discussed; individual strengths, core values, communication, emotional intelligence, and our purpose. It's a great visual representation to remind us to stay true to ourselves as leaders. I look forward to implementing my key takeaways from the forum on our campus, in our tennis program, and as a part of my life. I am forever changed!"
"The leadership forum was a life-changing experience for me," added Katou Kouami, a junior member of the District of Columbia's women's track and field team and UDC's SAAC President. "It helped uncover and strengthen attributes that were inside of me all along. Thanks to the leadership forum, I will no longer allow myself to dim my light. Instead, I will let it shine and light the way for others!"
Student-athletes selected to attend the forum return to campus with invaluable leadership skills, a refined understanding of the relationship among personal values, core beliefs and behavioral styles, and the support of a close personal network of like-minded peers to provide continued connection and dialogue after the program concludes. This best-in-class programming experience serves as a transformational opportunity for student-athletes and administrators to build a leadership toolkit and develop vital self-awareness that allows them to realize their potential.
"I enjoyed the atmosphere that this event brought," closed Ruland, a senior member of the Mercy baseball team. "Everyone was motivated and passionate about how they can become a better leader. I love how the mission was to unfold our leadership skills and not mold us because not everyone is the same; we are 1 in 8 billion. A key takeaway that I took was to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. We must come out of our comfort zones in order to achieve our personal growth."
