Five Horizon League Student-Athletes to Attend 2003 NCAA Leadership Conference

May 1, 2003

Indianapolis - Five student-athletes have been selected to represent the Horizon League at the NCAA Leadership Conference in Orlando, Fla.

Butler women's basketball player Angel Mason, Cleveland State volleyball player Jamie Bouyer, Loyola volleyball player Jorie Miguel, UW-Milwaukee women's soccer player Erin Shaughnessy and Youngstown State women's soccer player Kara White were selected to be part of a group that will discuss student-athlete welfare issues and work to enhance their leadership skills at the conference.

The NCAA Leadership Conference, which runs from May 25-29, is one of the largest non-competitive gatherings of NCAA student-athletes. This will be the seventh leadership conference that the NCAA has hosted for student-athletes in Divisions I, II and III. The conference was designed as a forum for student-athletes to discuss key issues collectively, and to provide them with an opportunity to enhance skills, which will enable them to become more effective leaders and motivators when they return to their campuses. The conference also provides student-athletes with exercises to enhance their decision-making and problem-solving skills, and to improve planning and priority management.

Criteria for selection include the student-athletes' demonstrated ability and strong desire to be a leader and the student-athletes' potential to benefit significantly from a leadership development experience. College and university officials who have CHAMPS/Life Skills programs at their schools are encouraged to nominate student-athletes for the conference. Many of the participants selected for the leadership conference are also members of the student-athlete advisory committees (SAAC) in their athletic conference or on their campus.

In order to be eligible for the leadership conference, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and must have athletics eligibility remaining in the following academic year. A committee comprised of CHAMPS/Life Skills coordinators from member institutions and NCAA student-athletes review the nominations to determine the final selections.

Bouyer has excelled both in and out of the classroom this season, earning All-League honors on the court to go along with Academic All-League and Fall Academic Honor Roll accolades. Miguel, Shaughnessy and White also qualified for the 2002 Fall Academic Honor Roll. Mason was a part of the Horizon League Basketball Issues Committee and SAAC during the 2002-03 academic year.