Redshirt junior football player Giambi Nesbitt represented Saint Francis at the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum, April 11-14, in Bethesda, Maryland.
The forum was created in 1997. Its purpose is to provide student-athletes with the opportunity to build leadership skills and relationships, create networking opportunities, and initiate a dialogue with others.
Nesbitt and the other attendees at the event engaged in in-depth conversation and introspection at the forum. They participated in character development activities and discussed the value of a positive outlook.
Topics addressed at the event included mental health and the ramifications of recent Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) laws. The forum included many group activities guided by facilitators.
More than 230 student-athletes, administrators and coaches from Division I, II and III schools attended the event. The theme of this year’s forum was “Light the Torch.”
Five-time NCAA champion and three-time Olympian Hazel Clark delivered the keynote address at the forum.
The director of global sales and business development at the Bermuda Tourism Authority and a former middle-distance track star at the University of Florida, Clark told attendees about the various ways that she has “lit her torch” throughout her career.
Nesbitt said participating in the NCAA Leadership Forum earlier this month has helped him improve his mental health by assisting others in maintaining theirs. The Camden, New Jersey, native said that it is challenging to be a student-athlete.
He noted that witnessing the unity of all the athletes at the forum, regardless of their individual backgrounds, was a special opportunity.
