Kean Athletic News

Barry Selected to Attend NCAA Leadership Conference 

UNION, N.J. (3/29/07) - Kean University freshman Jenni Barry (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) has been selected to attend the 2007 NCAA Leadership Conference, which will be held May 27-31, in Orlando, Florida. 

A starter on the field hockey and women's lacrosse teams, Barry is a physical education major.   This past fall, Barry was the starting goalkeeper for the field hockey team.  During the winter, she served as the team manager for the women's basketball team that advanced to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight.  She is also a starter for the women's lacrosse team this spring

The NCAA Leadership Conference is one of the largest non-competitive gatherings on NCAA student-athletes.  In conjunction with the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program, the NCAA Foundation in 1996 created the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference.  The mission of the conference is to provide a diverse group of the nation's top student-athletes an opportunity to actively participate in challenging and thought-provoking activities that will enable them to become better leaders on their campuses and in their communities. 

Criteria for selection included the student-athlete's demonstrated ability and strong desire to be a leader and the student-athlete's potential to benefit significantly from a leadership development experience.  College and university officials who have CHAMPS/Life Skills programs at their schools, such as Kean University, were encouraged to nominate student-athletes for the conference. 

In addition to Barry, other student-athletes nominated by Kean University included junior Kim Smith (Burlington, N.J.) of the women's basketball team, junior Maikel DeLaRosa (Newark, N.J.) of the baseball team and Jake Pew (Vernon, N.J.) of the football team.   Barry will be one of four student-athletes from the New Jersey Athletic Conference at the Leadership Conference.

Student-athletes participating in the leadership conference will represent both genders and different ethnicities from fall, winter and spring sports in Divisions I, II and III.  During the five-day leadership conference, student-athletes have the opportunity to discuss a variety of topics, which include the demands and expectations of student-athletes; inclusion education; international student-athlete experiences; recruiting visits; student-athlete responsibility; party behaviors; trust gaps within intercollegiate athletics; and sportsmanship.  The conference also provides student-athletes with exercises to enhance their decision-making and problem solving skills, and to improve planning and priority management.