CHARLOTTE, N.C. / March 4, 2020 - The CIAA tournament is a time for student athletes to shine on and off the court; and this year’s, Student Athlete Empowerment Symposium offered some Johnson C. Smith University student-athlete leaders the opportunity to fellowship and discuss the importance of mental health and the 2020 Census.
JCSU Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President, Kelvin Simon ’20 and Vice President, Cydney Calhoun ‘21, both attended the three-day event. SAAC is a student-run organization that keeps students engaged on college campuses through events that promote sports, physical fitness and education.
Calhoun, a member of the JCSU Women’s Volleyball team, emphasized the importance of events like these saying, “It helps us connect with other student athletes in the conference that are like-minded and want to achieve the same goals in their sports programs.”
Kelvin Simon, a JCSU track athlete, called the symposium, a “humbling experience”.
“This symposium gave me the opportunity to volunteer with Samaritan’s Feet, which made me remember where I came from and what I’ve gone through to get to where I am today,” he emphasized. Adding, “The experience brought me to tears.”
Samaritan’s Feet is a local charity that provides shoes for children in need. During the symposium, SAAC leaders volunteered with the non-profit organization at First Ward Elementary School in Uptown Charlotte.
During the symposium, CIAA commissioner Jacqie McWilliams took the time to pour knowledge about mental health, life goals and education into the student athletes, which Calhoun greatly appreciated. She also benefitted from the knowledge she was able to gain from her peers.
“We piggyback ideas off of each other to bring back to our universities rather it be community service, student engagement activities, or even just getting to learn each other’s organization better,” Calhoun said.
Calhoun and Simon hope to implement tools learned for the SAAC program at JCSU as well as develop a plan to help with the 2020 Census efforts in the Historic West End of Charlotte, in which JCSU resides.
“Attending these annual symposiums has helped me become a better leader on campus,” Simon said.
