The 2nd Annual  Globetrottin’ ADs’ Student Athlete Leadership Conference

Highlighting the important connections between athletics and academics was one of the goals of the Globetrottin ADs Student Athlete Leadership Conference but there were a whole lot more. This conference was a chance for student athletes who focus more on academics than athletics to use their passions in more of an academic atmosphere. 

One of the goals of this conference was to imbed the topic of athletics and athletic leadership into that academic realm. Presenters performed countless hours of research for their presentations and many of them related their experience in athletics to different subject areas such as units taught in math, science, economics. This might just be the spark one of our students needs to help them find their career path. 

For the few students who were presenters, the conference will have a more lasting effect because they became content creators. Students are all content creators in some way as they work on projects and make presentations in their classes. Some take it to the next level by presenting to their whole grade or school but not many make something that is shared outside of their school communities, let alone with people around the world. 

This year there were 50 schools online on conference day but only two CEESA schools, AS Warsaw and AIS Vienna – a number which was down drastically from last year. Unfortunately both AAS Moscow and PSI Kiev had planned to attend but current situations prevented that. Why the number of schools in the regions declined from 2021 might be because of the general CEESA online conference but the goal of reaching those individual students remained and will continue to remain in 2023.  The keynote session was moved into the middle of the conference schedule this year so the schools in Latin America were just waking up before the schools in Asia went to sleep. Waking up early was no problem for keynote, David Nurse who joined from Los Angeles and talked about how students can set themselves up for their breakthrough.

The students involved in the conference, either as participants or presenters, came together as a global community of international school students. They conquered fears, they asked questions, they learned new things, they met new people, and realized that they are not alone throughout this pandemic.

 The three long term effects of the conference are; global connections, connections across subject areas, and becoming content creators.

Thankfully social media is connecting the world like never before, but it’s rare for students to see into the minds of other students like them and really hear about the issues that concern them. This event helped students connect and learn about each other regardless of continent, country, or regional conference. It is a global connection like this that may help students formulate ideas for projects or essays. It may help them ease into the transition to college and even open their eyes to the fact that their problems are the same as  many other students.

This conference not only provided a unique opportunity for students to talk about their athletic passions and relate them to school and life, but, most importantly, it gave their voices a place to be heard by their peers, their parents, their teachers, and their coaches in a relaxed setting with nothing dependent on grades. 

For more information about the conference please visit https://www.globetrottinads.com/ and for more information about this year keynote speaker visit https://www.davidnurse.com/