Basketball player one of two student-athletes to represent MAC at NCAA Leadership Forum

April 7, 2015 | Athletics, Events, News
By Steve Easton



Toledo’s Aubrey Williams and Ohio’s Abby Gilleland will represent

 the Mid-American Conference at the 2015 NCAA Leadership Forum Thursday through Sunday, April 9-12, in Orlando, Fla.

Williams

Williams

The Rocket basketball player is a sophomore majoring in finance with a minor in sales. The Bowie, Md., native is an active member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Black Student Union and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.



Williams feels that being part of the NCAA Leadership Program will provide him with an opportunity to meet other student-athletes from across the country in a non-competitive environment.



“I am hoping to learn more about the lives and issues other student-athletes like myself are dealing with and to come away with suggestions on how to resolve them,” he said.

“I am also hoping to learn the different things that other student-athletes are doing to help their schools and communities.”



Gilleland is a junior volleyball player for the Bobcats. She is majoring in sports management with a minor in business administration. The Bill Valley, Ill., native is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, has served as the team captain for the past two years, and was named Volleyball MAC Player of the Year in 2013 and 2014.



She believes the NCAA Leadership Program will help her become a stronger ambassador for her school and the conference.

“As my collegiate career has progressed over the years, I have learned the importance of developing my athletic and academic skills, as well as the immeasurable importance of intangible characteristics such as leadership,” Gilleland said. “I believe that my relationships with other athletes, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representatives, coaches and athletic staff would greatly impact how well I could pass along what I will have learned as a result of this program.”

The NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum engages a diverse and dynamic representation of student-athletes, coaches, faculty and administrators. Each Division I and Division II conference office selects student-athletes from among active member schools and an administrator from the conference office to represent their conference at the forum. For Division III, the forum is open to all institutions in an identified region based on a first-come, first-served basis in the eligible region. Each eligible institution can send up to two student-athletes and one administrator.

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