By Angela Charlton, Ph.D.
NFL Player Engagement
Recently, at the NFL-NCAA Life Skills Roundtable for Student-Athletes held in Charlotte, NC, 20 student-athletes from Division I, II, and III institutions shared their voice about their experiences, challenges, and ideas for campus programming.
The NFL-NCAA Life Skills Roundtable for Student-Athletes is a collaboration between the NFL and the NCAA to support the overall efforts of the two organizations. One of the goals of the Roundtable is for the NFL and the NCAA to gain a better understanding of the personal and professional development needs of student-athletes.
Based on evaluations from last year’s roundtable, this year’s student-athletes were also provided professional development activities in the areas of financial education and managing relationships. A panel of former student-athletes with various career paths also shared their personal stories of transitioning from a student-athlete on the collegiate level to the professional arena.
Another goal of the Roundtable was to provide student-athletes with a forum to discuss the resources and support that they need in order to meet their personal and professional goals, and to gather and share the results with Athletics Professionals in order to help them develop and implement resources and campus programs that serve the needs of student-athletes.
The student athletes expressed a greater need for career preparation services at the same level they receive academic counseling throughout their entire college experience. A lot of students felt that career fairs and resume building tools were emphasized during Junior and Senior years, but stated the need for more resume building and job shadow opportunities to take place when they first arrive on campus. Different solutions like requiring end of semester resume evaluations and annual job shadows/internships to take place during the summers, even if it is only for a day or week, were discussed. Additionally, the student-athletes expressed a desire for more mentoring programs with former student-athletes that were recent graduates.
The student-athletes that participated in the Roundtable did an excellent job voicing their concerns and ideas for campus programs.