35 Student-Athletes Participated in the Empire 8 Summit
Summit Photo Gallery
Thirty-five student-athletes attended the 2018 Empire 8 Summit, which was held at the Woodcliff Hotel and Spa in Fairport, NY from Jan. 26-27.
The Summit is made possible through the NCAA Strategic Grant Tier II funds and provides the Empire 8 with an opportunity to bring campus personnel together from around the conference to integrate and collaborate on ideas.
The Empire 8 was pleased to welcome Dr. Nancy Kaplan who served as the keynote speaker and delivered powerful messages on Diversity and Inclusion and Sexual Assault.
Dr. Kaplan serves as Associate Provost for Academic Support Services and External Academic Partnerships at St. John’s University. As part of her responsibilities, Dr. Kaplan oversees the Student Development Program for the University’s Division I Student-Athletes.
"As we know, Diversity and Inclusion and Sexual Assault are critical topics and uncomfortable topics," said Dr. Kaplan. "I enjoyed the conversation with the student-athletes of the Empire 8 very much and was impressed with their attention, input and ability to share honestly some of their thoughts."
"It's always my goal to make them think about the potential each and every one of them has. And I truly believe that as student-athletes they are in a position to bring people together
"Dr. Kaplan is excellent," Zera said. "She gave a great presentation and I believe the student-athletes really embraced many of the values she was speaking about, especially when she gave case study examples and allowed the students to put themselves in the situation. It was a great forum and the goal is to now have the students take what they learned and apply it."
Summit attendees also heard from Sage Director of Athletics, Sandy Augstein-Collins, who presented on core values, good teammates and leadership. As part of her presentation the students were challenged in some interactive teamwork activities which were certainly a highlight of the weekend.
In addition to the presentations, the student-athletes also participated in the Minute-to-Win-it challenges and made their donation of Pop Tabs to the Ronald McDonald House.
“We hope that the Summit provided the participants with information and resources to dedicate, discover and develop their future in Division III athletics and beyond,” stated Associate Commissioner Janelle Zera.