Problem: Student-Athlete Involvement in Giving Back, Launching Carolina Can 

  

     As President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), student-athlete involvement in the community is often a challenge. SAAC’s mission statement is “to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity, protecting the student-athlete welfare and fostering a positive student-athlete image” (NSAAC). An achievement I am particularly proud of is co-founding “Carolina Can”, a food drive and fundraiser which aims to collect canned goods and donations for the Harvest Hope Food Banks located in Columbia, Florence and Greenville. This initiative is a way of raising awareness of the current hunger and poverty issues facing South Carolina particularly after the devastating flood that occurred in October of this year. During the planning stages of the food drive, I realized the SAAC member’s  lack of interest and involvement in  “Carolina Can.” Without the help of SAAC members', I would not be able to successfully implement a school-wide community service project. After considering the lack of drive and effort from the committee members, I realized I needed to find a solution to inspire student-athletes to participate.

Student-athletes have multiple obstacles that make it difficult to participate in activities beyond their sports. Student-athletes must balance 30+ hours of athletic training a week while simultaneously keeping a high-grade point average in order to stay eligible in their sports. Another factor is the lack of participation and involvement SAAC members put forth in SAAC meetings.  In order to get the committee excited, I needed to create solutions.

 

     My first solution was to determine what would motivate my target audience to participate. To find a solution to this problem I thought about what makes student-athletes passionate, competition against a rival. After researching my target audience, we made a decision to host a food drive and compete against Clemson University. The school that wins the food drive will receive a point to the Palmetto Series. The Palmetto series is an ongoing competition against both schools. The Palmetto Series competes for points in sports, academics, and community service. This year the Palmetto Series community service point will count as the winner of Carolina Can vs. Clemson Can Harvest Hope Food Drive. The event allowed student-athletes to work alongside the student body, help the community, and create positive public relations. The solution was successful because the committee was excited about participating in the efforts to beat Clemson University. Before incorporating the food drive into the Palmetto Series,  SAAC members, student-athletes, the student body, and faculty did not want to join the mission of collecting cans. Competing against our rival university added motivation and changed the views of my target audience.

 

     Once I decided on a source of motivation, my second issue was effectively leading a group of people in order to reach a goal. The class Principles of Management taught me about business management and effectively leading a team or committee. Creating a healthy group atmosphere, making challenging decisions for the sake of the group, and striving to lead by example are difficult. However, the outcome of these experiences is rewarding. When a group of people do not want to get involved with a project that often can mean the leader is lacking in effectiveness and inspiration.

 

     In order to solve the problem of increasing student-athlete involvement in launching Carolina Can, I had to be strategic in the way I lead the SAAC Committee. I utilized the knowledge I gained during my internship with the Houston Texans. The Houston Texans corporate development prides themselves on having face-to-face relationships. The team wanted each sponsor to understand its value to the company. Having a personal relationship with the community will help you effectively lead and reach a goal because when the community knows you care they are then often to care as well. The Houston Texans internship taught me the importance of personal relationships with clients. An effective leader wants everyone involved to feel like they are important to the success of the business, or in this case the food drive. In order to lead members of the SAAC effectively, I developed personal relationships with each member. I took the time to get to know every athlete on the committee. The face-to-face interaction with the student-athletes helped increased involvement in the food drive. The most involved SAAC members were student –athletes in which I had connections.  A connection with the target audience will increase involvement in a plan to make a difference in the community.

 

     Using my experiences in and out of the classroom, I was able to plan different angles to help address the problem of SAAC student-athletes members lack of involvement in giving back to Carolina Can. My plan to actually implement these recommendations is simple.

 

     In the Principles of Management class I learned about managing a business and how to effectively lead a team. As a captain, I used the management skills such as leading by example, living out the advice and motivation I offer to the team, creating a healthy team atmosphere, and making challenging decisions for the sake of the team.

In my internship with the Houston Texans I learned about the importance of personal relationships with clients. In the journalism course, The Carolina Agency, I used the same methods I learned during the internship. I made sure when signing a client our group built a personal relationship. Making the effort showed clients that our agency is loyal and cares about their success. Through these experiences within the classroom and beyond the classroom, I was able to execute a plan that will get student-athletes involved in Carolina Can.

 

     My plan was to use these experiences to get student-athlete and SAAC members involved with Carolina Can. What I learned in my Principles of Management course and my experience being captain was implemented to increase involvement of SAAC members. As a manager and a captain you must lead by example. As co-founder of Carolina Can, I came to meetings prepared with a set agenda. I made copies for the entire committee, included opportunities for SAAC members to provide feedback, and updated the committee. I reinforced the challenge against Clemson to reinforce a healthy team atmosphere. I also listened to advice and worked with the committee members. I made sure they knew their input was valued. Furthermore, I had to make challenging decisions. When committee members did not attend meetings, I executed an attendance policy. Student-athletes were not allowed more than two absences during a semester or they would not be able to participate in SAAC. The next meeting not a single student-athlete was absent.

 

     My experiences as captain, an intern for the Houston Texans, and a student in Principles of Management and The Carolina Agency allowed me to execute a plan. My hope was that my leadership and loyalty to the organization and service project would motivate others to truly care about SAAC’s success.

 

     I was able to evaluate Carolina Can as a success when the SAAC members’ involvement in the service project increased. From experiences, I have learned that leading by example will lead to more involvement.

 

     As co-founder of Carolina Can, I came to meetings prepared with a set agenda. I made copies for the entire committee. During these meetings I designated times that involved the student-athletes in open discussion. This allowed the student-athletes to have a voice on SAAC and see change in the athletic department. Similar to being a manager and captain, I continued to try to motivated my committee by creating a challenge against Clemson. This motivated the student-athletes because athletes are a competitive target audience especially when it comes to a competition against Clemson University. This plan might seem successful if USC wins the food drive. Winning the food drive would be nice but not necessarily a measure of success. Having an increase in SAAC members involved in Carolina Can and other student-athletes involved in a community service project in spite of the demands of their sports are really the measures of success. SAAC members and the athletic department thought the food drive was a success because of the high level of involvement. This is the highest number of SAAC student-athletes to ever have been involved in a community service project. Additionally, I continued to reinforce healthy team atmosphere. I made sure they knew their input mattered which then made the SAAC members more likely to get involved. I know this plan was successful when committee members that have not been active in SAAC before started to take leadership roles and assist with the food drive. For example, a baseball student-athlete took initiative gathered his entire team together and devoted a day to collecting cans at the baseball field for Carolina Can. Another student-athlete created the Carolina Can logo. This all started when I started to take the time to get to know the student-athletes and encourage them to make a difference. Just like being captain or managing a business, I had to make challenging decisions. When committee members did not attend scheduled meetings, I executed an attendance policy. This consisted of student-athletes not missing more than two meetings a semester or they would be kicked off SAAC. This plan was a success because at the next meeting not a single student-athlete was absent. Attendance is important to the success of Carolina Can because I am not able to execute the food drive without the help and support from the SAAC members.

 

     Lastly, the importance of relationships will lead to success in involvement. I made sure to make connections with all the SAAC members starting with learning everyone's name and sport they played. After I accomplished that I focused on increasing “face-to-face” or personal relationship with the SAAC members. After I implemented this plan, SAAC and I created the idea of a challenge between the sports teams. This challenge consisted of each team challenging another team to take a video of the student-athletes promoting Carolina Can and then supporting the food drive by delivering 20 cans to Carolina Can. I was able to execute this plan and create success because I formed personal relationships with the student-athlete team representatives on SAAC. I made sure to follow up with each sport when challenged to support the drive and create a video. This plan was a success because each team supported Carolina Can.