Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Sheree Ledwell Selected to Participate in NCAA Leadership Conference
05/03/2004 | 12:00:00 | Track and Field
May 3, 2004
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University track and field mid-distance runner Sheree Ledwell has been selected to participate in the 2004 NCAA Leadership Conference held in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. in early June.
Ledwell, a sophomore who participates in cross country and runs the 800-meter run for the women's track team, was one of 324 student-athletes selected out of a pool of 1175 nominations from 295 schools.
The annual leadership conference was created by the NCAA in 1996 to provide a diverse group of the nation's top student-athletes an opportunity to actively participate in activities that will enable them to become better leaders on their campuses and in their communities.
"I'm very excited to have been selected out of all the students at SIU to go to this conference. It's one of the highest honors to be able to represent our school and the other athletes," Ledwell said. "Since there will be more than just track athletes there, I'm really interested to see what students from other sports have to share about being leaders. Being on the Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB), I want to be able to bring something, good ideas and programs, back to SIU that we can implement."
Ledwell follows Saluki quarterback Joel Sambursky, who attended the conference last year. She says Sambursky returned from the conference with ideas that could help student-athletes gain more experience in their field of study.
"I didn't know Joel that much before he went to the conference, but now that we are both members of SAAB I know him much better," Ledwell said. "He brought back from the conference an idea of having local businesses or university departments collaborate with the athletic department on internships for student-athletes, so they could gain real-world experience."
Each school nominates four student-athletes who have demonstrated an ability or strong desire to be leaders and would benefit from a significant leadership experience. In order to be eligible, applicants must be in good academic standing and must have athletics eligibility remaining in the following academic year.
The conference will help student-athletes improve their communication skills, decision-making and problem-solving skills, critical-thinking and collaborative skills. The conference also promotes better communication among student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty and communities.
Topics for past conferences have included developing leadership skills; changing perception; developing political skills and utilizing the student-athlete committee. The five-day leadership conference consists of daily exercises and activities to help the student-athletes develop as individuals and as contributing members of a group.
The conference will be held at Disney's Wide World of Sport's Complex and Coronado Springs Resort from May 30 to June 3.
