INDIANAPOLIS – Wilmington College baseball player Joshua Chua is one of 230 current student-athletes, NCAA scholarship and grant recipients, invited to the NCAA Career in Sports Forum from June 1-4.
Chua (Lancaster, England/Claremont [CA]) recently completed his first season with the Fightin' Quakers after transferring from Citrus Community College. He made an immediate impact on and off the field.
He was one of two spring student-athletes to record a 4.0 grade point average, and he was the lone baseball player to earn All-Ohio Athletic Conference honors. Chua's community services include Special Olympics and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Participants who expressed an interest in pursuing a career in sports, and who were viewed as leaders on their campus, were invited to apply to attend the forum after a nomination by athletics administrators at their respective schools. Many current and past attendees are members of their Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the student-athlete voice within the NCAA governance structure. The selection committee is comprised of administrators and coaches within the NCAA, many former forum participants themselves.
"Supporting NCAA student-athlete leaders with their education is a key goal for the Association," said Bernard Franklin, NCAA executive vice president of education and community engagement and chief inclusion officer. "Our Career in Sports Forum puts student-athletes, postgraduate scholarship recipients in a non-traditional academic setting where they can learn directly from successful leaders, which can have a positive impact on their future after graduation."
One of more than 45 annual conferences and seminars organized and directed by the NCAA leadership development department, the Career in Sports Forum provides college athletes with a broader scope of the career tracks available within the sports business, with the primary focus on college athletics. The forum provides student-athletes interactive experiences with successful individuals in the sports business and a peek into their day-to-day duties and responsibilities.
Forum attendees, with representation from 73 conferences, will hear from various keynote speakers and panelists, highlighted by Stevie Baker-Watson, associate vice president and director of athletics at DePauw University; Jason Burton, head women's basketball coach at the Texas A&M University-Commerce; Clyde Doughty Jr, director of athletics at Bowie State University; Oliver Luck, NCAA executive vice president of regulatory affairs; Felicia Martin, vice president of the NCAA Eligibility Center; and Craig McPhail, director of athletics at Lees-McRae College. The participants also learn best practices for gaining employment and gathering a better understanding of what future expectations will be once they get a job in sports.
Search #LearnLead to follow the social conversation and events at the 2017 Career in Sports Forum, as well as all NCAA leadership development programs.
