GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference recently concluded its six-week Professional Development Academy, an interactive virtual program that engaged more than 130 current and former ACC student-athletes focused on enhancing personal and career goals.
The academy’s curriculum, designed and delivered by student-athlete development administrators from ACC member institutions, assisted participants in learning core values, identifying and developing circles of influence, establishing effective communication and leadership skills, and charting career plans.
In addition to multiple educational sessions, the academy featured guest speakers who shared personal stories and tips for success. The list included Victoria Garrick, former women’s volleyball student-athlete at the University of Southern California and founder of The Hidden Opponent, an organization created to raise awareness for student-athlete mental health; Jay Bilas, ESPN men’s basketball analyst and former Duke men’s basketball student-athlete; Dion Williams, a national recruiter for NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Development Program and former Wake Forest football student-athlete; and Lamarr Pottinger, NCAA Associate Director of Leadership Development and former track student-athlete at Eastern Illinois.
Launched to meet the needs of student-athletes whose summer plans were negatively affected by COVID-19, the idea of a virtual ACC Professional Development Academy was presented by Ashley Wechter, Wake Forest’s Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Development, and Sable Lee, Clemson’s Assistant Director for Student-Athlete Development.
“When we recognized the impact COVID was going to have on our student-athletes, we had to pivot,” Wechter said. “Many of our institutions, like Wake Forest, had flourishing summer internship programs ready to start, and unfortunately those opportunities were rescinded. As student-athlete development professionals, we are dedicated to seeing the ‘total person’ succeed, so we came together to turn a difficult situation into a positive one.”
Student-athletes from each of the ACC’s 15 member institutions completed the academy.
“We hope our student-athletes are able to gain direct career development assistance while transferring personal and leadership development skills into their respective career journeys,” said Lee.
“The ACC Professional Development Academy exists because of the selfless values and servant leadership of all ACC Life Skills professionals and institutions,” Lee added. “The leadership of the ACC and Shamaree Brown (the conference’s Director of Student-Athlete Programs & Compliance) is contagious and has positively impacted our faculty, facilitators and – most importantly – our student-athletes.”
The following students-athletes completed the 2020 ACC Professional Development Academy:
| Bibilani Liu |
Boston College |
Golf (W) |
| Eleanor Mataya |
Boston College |
Softball |
| Kennedy Labshere |
Boston College |
Softball |
| Parker Biele |
Boston College |
Skiing (W) |
| Richard Yeargin III |
Boston College |
Football |
| Fusine Govaert |
Boston College |
Field Hockey |
| Isabella Beckler |
Clemson |
Rowing |
| Veronica Fraley |
Clemson |
Track & Field (W) |
| Bridget Kane |
Clemson |
Rowing (W) |
| Abigail Hanks |
Clemson |
Soccer (W) |
| Joshua Jackson |
Clemson |
Football |
| Kaley Wojciechowski |
Clemson |
Rowing |
| Justin Malou |
Clemson |
Tennis (M) |
| Roje Stona |
Clemson |
Track & Field (M) |
| Sarah Hill |
Clemson |
Track & Field (W) |
| Yizhou Liu |
Clemson |
Tennis (M) |
| Mackenzie Preston |
Clemson |
Rowing |
| Danny Shaughnessy |
Clemson |
Track & Field (M) |
| Joe Choo |
Duke |
Fencing |
| Raine Wilson |
Duke |
Softball |
| Shay Hollander |
Duke |
Swimming & Diving (W) |
| Aaron Wright |
Duke |
Football |
| Emmy Duerr |
Duke |
Soccer (W) |
| Luca Keist |
Duke |
Tennis (M) |
| Naima Turbes |
Duke |
Cross Country (W) |
| Katie Calvo |
Duke |
Lacrosse (W) |
| Meera Chakrabarti |
Duke |
Rowing |
| Piper Hampsch |
Duke |
Field Hockey |
| Jayla Kirkland |
Florida State |
Track & Field (W) |
| DeCalon Brooks |
Florida State |
Football |
| Brooke Bollinger |
Florida State |
Soccer (W) |
| Christian Armstrong |
Florida State |
Football |
| Sayawni Lassiter |
Florida State |
Basketball (W) |
| Jodie Judd |
Florida State |
Cross Country (W) |
| Deja Bush |
Florida State |
Track & Field (W) |
| Morgan Jones |
Florida State |
Basketball (W) |
| Adrian Ell |
Florida State |
Volleyball |
| Kelechi Nwanaga |
Florida State |
Track & Field (W) |
| Liz Galarza |
Georgia Tech |
Cross Country (W) |
| Joseph Mannelly |
Georgia Tech |
Baseball |
| Caroline Doi |
Georgia Tech |
Swimming & Diving (W) |
| Kyrsten Davis |
Georgia Tech |
Swimming & Diving (W) |
| Sam Crawford |
Georgia Tech |
Baseball |
| Aiko Jones |
Louisville |
Volleyball |
| Skylar Fisher |
Louisville |
Cheer & Dance |
| Mercedes Pastor |
Louisville |
Field Hockey |
| Makenli Forrest |
Louisville |
Track & Field (W) |
| Jordan Kraski |
Louisville |
Rowing |
| Tia Dupont |
Miami |
Soccer (W) |
| Sabina Lewis |
Miami |
Rowing |
| Elizaveta Lukianova |
Miami |
Volleyball |
| Debbie Ajabe |
Miami |
Track & Field (W) |
| Taylor Shell |
Miami |
Soccer (W) |
| Ryley Howard |
Miami |
Cross Country (W) |
| Zakiya Rashid |
Miami |
Track & Field (W) |
| Taylor Burrell |
Miami |
Volleyball |
| Madison Dill |
Miami |
Volleyball |
| Clay James |
Miami |
Football |
| Estela Perez Somarriba |
Miami |
Tennis (W) |
| Kayla Johnson |
Miami |
Track & Field (W) |
| Cameron Dobbs |
Miami |
Volleyball |
| Christopher Holliday |
North Carolina |
Football |
| Jaelynn Murray |
North Carolina |
Basketball (W) |
| Anna Williams |
North Carolina |
Rowing |
| Cameron Fisher |
North Carolina |
Soccer (M) |
| Brian Cernoch |
North Carolina |
Tennis (M) |
| Joseph Taylor |
North Carolina |
Fencing |
| Cameron Morra |
North Carolina |
Tennis (W) |
| Malu Tshitenge |
North Carolina |
Basketball (W) |
| Pin-Wen "Nicole" Lu |
North Carolina |
Golf (W) |
| Alexis Lynch |
North Carolina |
Fencing |
| Valdas Abaliksta |
North Carolina |
Swimming & Diving (M) |
| Alexandra Wilkinson |
NC State |
Track & Field (W) |
| Will Brown |
NC State |
Football |
| Eleo Domingos |
NC State |
Soccer (M) |
| Joe Schrader |
NC State |
Tennis (M) |
| Cravont Charleston |
NC State |
Track & Field (M) |
| Danika Huizinga |
NC State |
Swimming & Diving (W) |
| Joshua Brockman |
NC State |
Track & Field (M) |
| Monika Hartl |
NC State |
Golf (W) |
| Monroe Olsen |
Notre Dame |
Volleyball |
| Sarah Genz |
Notre Dame |
Softball |
| Madison Ronzone |
Notre Dame |
Cross Country (W) |
| Jack Sheehan |
Notre Dame |
Baseball |
| Dasha Yefremenko |
Notre Dame |
Fencing |
| Mary Grace Phelan |
Notre Dame |
Rowing |
| Brooke Trossen |
Notre Dame |
Cross Country (W) |
| JP Becker |
Notre Dame |
Swimming & Diving (M) |
| Malcolm Fields |
Notre Dame |
Fencing |
| Kiara Schmidt |
Notre Dame |
Volleyball |
| Mariah Parsons |
Notre Dame |
Rowing |
| Stephen Hopta |
Pitt |
Swimming & Diving (M) |
| Michaela Burton |
Pitt |
Gymnastics |
| Arlin Vieira |
Pitt |
Cheer & Dance |
| Monica McNeil |
Pitt |
Track & Field (W) |
| Katlyn Pavlick |
Pitt |
Softball |
| Megan Nagy |
Pitt |
Cross Country (W) |
| Jenna Baltes |
Pitt |
Cross Country (W) |
| Jerry Chen |
Pitt |
Swimming & Diving (M) |
| Jilian Schulte |
Pitt |
Swimming & Diving (W) |
| Madison Nalls |
Pitt |
Swimming & Diving (W) |
| Evan Addison |
Pitt |
Cross Country (M) |
| Katelyn Fuhrmann |
Pitt |
Swimming & Diving (W) |
| Kristen Siermachesky |
Syracuse |
Ice Hockey (W) |
| Alexa Manfredi |
Syracuse |
Crew |
| Carolin Hoffman |
Syracuse |
Field Hockey |
| Lee Dudley |
Virginia |
Football |
| Charles Snowden |
Virginia |
Football |
| Charlotte Quinn |
Virginia |
Rowing |
| Lindsay Barkett |
Virginia |
Rowing |
| Martin Weisz |
Virginia |
Football |
| Nika Kozar |
Virginia Tech |
Tennis (W) |
| David Whitfield |
Virginia Tech |
Cross Country (M) |
| Jessica Spicer |
Virginia Tech |
Golf (W) |
| Nicole Kozlova |
Virginia Tech |
Soccer (W) |
| Aisha Sheppard |
Virginia Tech |
Basketball (W) |
| Kai Young |
Virginia Tech |
Volleyball |
| Emily Gray |
Virginia Tech |
Soccer (W) |
| Cecilia Marenick |
Virginia Tech |
Track & Field (W) |
| Molly Sheffield |
Virginia Tech |
Swimming & Diving (W) |
| Talyn Jackson |
Virginia Tech |
Volleyball |
| Andrew Weber |
Virginia Tech |
Soccer |
| Alexis Grippo |
Wake Forest |
Field Hockey |
| Abby Krueger |
Wake Forest |
Volleyball |
| Julia McLaughlin |
Wake Forest |
Golf (W) |
| Cole McNally |
Wake Forest |
Soccer (M) |
| Rylee Kopchak |
Wake Forest |
Cross Country (W) |
| Eleanor Winants |
Wake Forest |
Field Hockey |
| John Kinney |
Wake Forest |
Cheer & Dance |
| Maddie Lynch |
Wake Forest |
Tennis (W) |
| Maggie Dickman |
Wake Forest |
Field Hockey |
|
The following ACC Faculty and Facilitators participated in the 2020 ACC Professional Development Academy:
| Anthony Hines |
Clemson |
| Sable Lee |
Clemson |
| Leslie Barnes |
Duke |
| Sarah Petronio |
Florida State |
| Ashton Henderson |
Florida State |
| Leah Thomas |
Georgia Tech |
| Alyssa Murphy |
Louisville |
| Monica Negron |
Louisville |
| Alexander Martin |
Miami |
| Shirelle Jackson |
Miami |
| Cricket Lane |
North Carolina |
| Tonya Washington |
NC State |
| Claire VeNard |
Notre Dame |
| Danny Bonaventura |
Pitt |
| Cameron Spera |
Syracuse |
| Mark Trumbo |
Syracuse |
| Reyna Gilbert-Lowry |
Virginia Tech |
| Natalie Forbes |
Virginia Tech |
| Sarah Lage |
Virginia Tech |
| Shelby Miller |
Virginia Tech |
| Ashley Wechter |
Wake Forest |
| Kelvin Anthony |
ACC |
| Shamaree Brown |
ACC |
| Marra Hvozdovic |
ACC |