UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - Four Saginaw Valley State University student-athletes attended the 2013 NCAA National Career in Sports Forum, held June 8-11 in Indianapolis, Indiana.  At the forum, the SVSU delegates were joined by other student-athletes from institutions across-the-country that spanned all three divisions of the NCAA membership.  The four representatives from Saginaw Valley were the most attendees from any Division II institution for the second consecutive year.

Having the opportunity to attend the NCAA National Career in Sports Forum and represent Saginaw Valley State University, were:

"The pre-work and the emphasis on values at the Forum really helped me to learn a lot about myself: the values that I represent, my dreams for the future, and the potential that I have to reach my goals. I have developed a greater understanding of the importance of networking and gaining experience through volunteering, internships, and attending more conferences like this. At the Forum, they helped sharpen the skills that we already have so that we can become more effective leaders and more promising candidates for a job in whatever career path we choose to follow," commented junior volleyball player Makenzie Frodle.

The NCAA National Career in Sports Forum is an educational summit where selected student athletes learn and explore careers in sports, sports entertainment, sports law, coaching, administration and officiating with a primary focus on intercollegiate athletics. The workshop is also designed to dispel myths about careers in athletics and to facilitate the opportunity to obtain information from future athletics professionals.

"One of the biggest things I took away from the forum was that I am not nearly prepared enough for my career as I thought I would be, stated senior track and field athlete Elias Chiatalas.  "I also learned some better strategies for finding the best place that will fit for me when looking for a career position."

"Having the opportunity to attend the Career in Sports Forum made me realize that the choice of a Division II athletic program was the correct one for me, because the values of Division II align with my own. It also made me realize that I had been missing out on a part of the student-athlete experience by waiting for opportunities to find me instead making my own opportunities." said tennis senior Ashley Giordano.

To be selected to the NCAA Career in Sports Forum, student-athletes had to apply to be one of ten institutional nominees, prior to completing the application that included essay questions on their goals, passions and career aspirations.  Only 277 student athletes from all three Divisions of the NCAA were selected among nearly 800 applicants to attend the three-day forum.

"The experience at the forum opened my eyes to things that I hadn't previously noticed. Probably the biggest thing was understanding the influence I have on and off the field and how it could affect others. I look back now and wish I maybe would have done more but also that you learn from mistakes and live for now not the past nor necessarily the future." added senior football attendee Jonathon Jennings.