#N4A17 Region II Conference
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Congratulations to the LSU staff, specifically Kirstin DeFusco, an Assistant Director for the Tigers in their Academic Affairs team. Kenneth Miles, you and your team have set the Regional Bar HIGH for all of those who come after you. N4A, and its membership, can absolutely be proud of the work that was completed this past weekend. Speaking of Kirstin, you can learn more about her, her role and her contract information here: http://www.acsa.lsu.edu/staff.aspx?staff=46Anyone setting up a regional conference should touch base with her first – you’ll be glad that you did.
The N4A Region II Conference was held at the Marriott in Baton Rouge, only a few miles from LSU’s campus. If there would have been a slightly larger crowd, you could have mistaken the regional conference for the National Convention. Special thanks to Dr. Bodack, Carole Walker, Dorothy Kemp, Carli Faulkner, Ashley Granger, and Calvin Marshall for their tireless efforts in making sure this was a first class experience for everyone in attendance.
One of the highlights of the conference was a tour of the LSU Academic Center. It is obvious that the leadership at LSU is committed to the support and development of their student-athletes. If you ever have a chance to visit LSU’s academic services – I strongly encourage you to do it.
The opening Keynote speaker was exceptional. Dima Ghawi spoke for about 45 minutes on leadership, specifically, breaking your ‘glass’. I strongly encourage you to watch her speech here: https://vimeo.com/163847793. After watching the brief video, I would challenge you to consider her words carefully. Do you give yourself permission to break your glass? If not – what is holding you back? Let me know, we can work through them together.
I was fortunate to be selected to present at the conference on Communication with the Modern Student-Athlete.
I think there is always a little apprehension prior to a presentation. Do you have your notes together, will the powerpoint align with the projector… will the projector connect to your Mac? Most importantly, and especially at a regional where attendance is limited, will people show up? 10 minutes before we were set to go live, I could hear Brad Horton (http://www.georgiastatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=209537995&DB_OEM_ID=12700) wrapping up the N4A Welcome and Business Meeting. There were two additional presentations scheduled for 9:40am – so it would be interesting to see the turnout. 5 minutes to go, a scattering of people had arrived – but we were definitely not full. You can see from my point of view below. My thoughts turned to providing the best content I could for the group that showed up. Whether I am speaking to 2 people or 2000, I try and bring as much energy and passion as I can to try and provide the best experience possible for those who are in attendance.
Then it happened, the doors opened – and the group gathered. All told, the LSU staff had to bring in extra chairs to accommodate the guests. As I started my presentation, I actually stalled for a second as I could see people sitting on the floor in the back of the room and others gather and standing in the corners. Overall, I think the presentation went over well. I was fortunate to meet some incredible people and received some great feedback on the topic.
After the presentation, I was immediately off to BTR to catch my flight to ATL en route to STL. From the N4A regional conference to the #NACADA17 National Convention. Two days of training and meetings before I present on Thursday. If you are here in St Louis, Lets grab coffee. Even better, please come by and be in attendance as I present on ‘Be Well, Do Well – Invest in your Team’ this Thursday at 11:30am!
It would mean the world to me if you could Please follow the incredible LSU group on Twitter here: @LSUAcademicCtr @LSUSALifeSkills @LSUSAAC and @ACSATutorialLSU
Until next time, #Live Maas
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