Serge Selected For NCAA Leadership Conference

INDIANAPOLIS — For the third straight year, SUNY New Paltz will have a representative at the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference. For the first time, that representative will be a freshman.

Robert Serge, of Valley Stream, NY, has been selected to participate in the fourth annual event, which will be held May 28-June 1 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Serge, a member of the Hawks’ baseball and men’s soccer teams, was selected from a total of 885 nominations, including those of fellow institutional candidates Jodi Novatka (field hockey) and Silver Williams (women’s basketball), who are also freshmen.

He was one of four New Paltz student-athletes to achieve a perfect 4.0 grade-point average for the fall semester – his first at New Paltz – and is an active member of the university’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Among other projects, Serge recently led his fellow student-athletes in a fund-raising drive to benefit Ulster County Literacy, which resulted in the organization’s most successful campaign in many years. He also participated in the men’s soccer team’s annual fall appearance at the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk, which earned the Hawks their second-straight award for having the most volunteers in a group (22).

The 1999 Valley Stream South High graduate and his teammates also served this past fall as mentors to youngsters on an Under-10 boys soccer club team in nearby Croton-on-Hudson.

Men’s basketball player Omar Bennett was selected for last year’s NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference, and Sarah Mercado (women’s basketball) was New Paltz’s initial delegate in 1998.

The mission of the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference is to develop a diverse group of student-athletes who will actively participate in and experience a multitude of challenging and thought-provoking activities that will enable them to become change agents on their campuses and in their communities. It will provide NCAA student-athletes with the opportunity to discuss and explore critical issues facing their peers; to enhance their leadership skills; and to promote better communication among student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty and communities.

A total of 352 student-athletes have been invited to attend the 2000 NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference. Student-athletes were nominated from NCAA member institutions that participate in the NCAA-sponsored CHAMPS/Life Skills program.

The 2000 NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference will focus on critical issues identified during the nomination process as well as topics recommended by members of the Division I, II and III NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committees.

Participants will engage in a variety of developmental exercises designed to enhance their communication, decision-making and problem-solving skills, and will also participate in collaborative projects and critical thinking. Student-athletes will develop their leadership skills through interactive, hands-on work in small groups, and have the opportunity to reflect on their experiences.

Participating student-athletes will represent all three NCAA divisions, a variety of different sports, both genders and different ethnicities.

For more information on the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference or the CHAMPS/Life Skills program, contact Michael Gant or Lori Hendricks at the NCAA National Office at (317) 917-6222.