LAKEWOOD, NJ -  Georgian Court University student-athlete, Lauren Conaty, a member of the women’s lacrosse team attended the NCAA Division II Leadership Academy held September 25-27 in Boston. The Academy was directed by the NCAA Student-Athlete Development Staff, a group of trained facilitators and the National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). The participants included one male and one female student-athlete along with one administrator or coach from every Division II institution in the East and Mid-Atlantic Regions. 

“Sportsmanship really reflects how we treat our opponents because we’re all striving for the same thing," said Conaty. "Each person has a different style of being a leader on and off the field. In learning that everyone is different, there are different ways to approach teammates without offending them or hurting anyone’s feelings."
 
The three-day academy was conducted with an intense curriculum, encompassing topics that allowed the student-athletes, coaches and administrators in attendance to assess their leadership styles, understand their responsibility as leaders on campus, obtain a better understanding of the functions of the different aspects of the NCAA at the Division II level, the role of the national SAAC, and the Division II legislative process.
 
“Overall it taught me the type of leader I am,  my own strengths and weaknesses and the emotional intelligence that we all possess.  It was nice to be around other student-athletes who all want the same thing as me, yet we all take different approaches in being a leader.”