ISSUE 1 : VOLUME 2 : 2015
LEADERSHIP INVOLVEMENT SERVICE
UAB SAAC BEGINS WITH
124 Student-athletes in attendance
UAB SAAC set an all-time record attendance at their first meeting of the 2015-2016 school year on Monday, August 31. The SAAC meeting was set to start at 7 pm, but even then there was still a line coming out of the door into a packed auditorium. Student-Athletes participating in SAAC were provided with free Chick-fil-A, and began the meeting with an awesome ice breaker getting to know student-athletes from other teams. These activities set the tone for the rest of the meeting: energy, excitement and determination for the upcoming year to reach higher in all of the SAAC goals and initiatives. This year UAB SAAC plans to reach 3,000 hours in community service, have an average SAAC student-athlete attendance of 60, win the Conference USA canned food drive, and raise $1,500 in Penny Wars. “We are so excited about the energy and excitement everyone came in with to the first meeting and we can’t wait to see what this year brings!” commented SAAC President, Cat Ragon. Cat is currently serving in her second term as SAAC President, serves as the Conference USA SAAC rep for UAB, and is on the National Division I SAAC Executive Board representing C-USA. GO BLAZERS!
ISSUE 1 : VOLUME 2 : 2015
LEADERSHIP INVOLVEMENT SERVICE
COMMUNITY SERVICE
OPPORTUNITIES
Download the Helper Helper App to sign up for:
Wagon Washing at Children’s: 9/2, 9/9, 9/14 & More UAB Blazer VB Invite Ball Shaggers: 9/4 & 9/5--multiple time slots Ronald McDonald House Cleaning: 9/1 & 9/22 6 - 8 pm Pedestrian Safety Brochure Hand Out:
9/15, 9/17, 9/21, 9/23
278.5!
TOTAL COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS TO DATE:
UPCOMING HOME CONTESTS
9/4: Volleyball vs. FIU 9/4: Women’s Soccer vs. Coastal Carolina 9/5: Volleyball vs. Savannah State 9/5: Volleyball vs. Austin Peay 9/7: Volleyball vs. North Texas 9/11: Men’s Soccer vs. UIC 9/11: Women’s Soccer vs. Louisville 9/13: Men’s Soccer vs. Gardner Webb 9/28 - 9/29: Men’s Golf Shoal Creek Invitational
SAAC REP SPOTLIGHT KATLYN SIDES, SOFTBALL
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Dora, AL Nickname: Sides Major: Kinesiology Favorite SAAC Activity: Habitat for Humanity Favorite Spot in Birmingham: Church of the Highlands Katlyn loves being a SAAC Rep because it is a great way to reach out to the community. She loves being an ambassador for her school, and her team.
ISSUE 1 : VOLUME 2 : 2015
LEADERSHIP INVOLVEMENT SERVICE
FRESHMEN LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
KICKS OFF THIS SEMESTER!
U n iv
e
Studrsity of Ala ent-A bama thlet at Birmi e Dev ngham elopm ent
fres h Lead men er I n st s h i p itut e
During the ďŹ rst week of school this year, the Freshmen Leadership Institute welcomed more than 60 incoming freshman student-athletes into the ďŹ rst ever Freshmen Leadership Institute within UAB Athletics. The Freshmen Leadership Institute provides an opportunity for student-athletes to work in a one-on-one setting with a Leadership Mentor to develop and enhance their leadership skill set. Each student-athlete will work with their Leadership Mentor for 12 sessions throughout the course of the semester or academic year. This program uses discussion and activities to help the student-athletes enhance their understanding of personal strengths and values to emerge as a quality team, campus, and community leader. The Leadership Mentors are comprised of a variety of UAB Athletics Staff Members from areas including: Student-Athlete Development, Compliance, and Development. During the one-on-one meetings with their Leadership Mentor, student-athletes will be learning about themselves, their values, and will be challenged through active and engaging discussion. The Freshmen Leadership Institute is just one of the many initiatives and components of UAB Student-Athlete Development. In addition to their Freshmen Leadership Academy, Student-Athlete Development is excited to introduce more community service and career development opportunities this year for the Blazers. Read more about the Freshmen Leadership Institute on uabsports.com or by following @UABSAAC on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
UAB SAAC BEGINS THEIR
SHOE DRIVE
UAB Student-Athlete Development
AUGUST 31-September 21
UAB SAAC is going to take their impact globally by collecting used tennis shoes and sneakers for impoverished areas throughout the world. For the next three weeks, donations of any tennis shoes (new or old, children or adult) will be collected throughout the Bell Building. The Blazers are asking help from their UAB family to help their cause by contributing your used tennis shoes and sneakers. If you would like for UAB SAAC to pick up the shoes from your location, please contact Caitlin Callaghan at Ccallagh@uab.edu or 205-975-3096.
ISSUE 1 : VOLUME 2 : 2015
LEADERSHIP INVOLVEMENT SERVICE
UAB Student-Athlete Development Partners with Helper Helper To keep reaching higher for the 2015-2016 academic year, UAB Student-Athlete Development has partnered with Helper Helper to provide a convenient way for student-athletes to sign up for community service opportunities. Helper Helper is a mobile app that student-athletes can download on their phone, select the service opportunity they want to participate in, and sign up for it!
HOW TO SIGN UP: ONCE YOU'VE DOWNLOADED THE APP... 1. TYPE IN YOUR UAB EMAIL ADDRESS FOR YOUR USERNAME 2. SELECT "FORGOT PASSWORD" AND CHOOSE TO SEND TEMP. PASSWORD 3. USE THIS TEMP. PASSWORD TO LOG IN 4. CREATE YOUR OWN PASSWORD PROBLEMS? SEE CAITLIN CALLAGHAN OR AUSTIN KAISER OR TALK TO YOUR SAAC REP!
CAREER DEVELOPMENT EDITION
Featuring experiences from student-athletes
JACAREY HEARD
INTERNS WITH ENTERPRISE
Following the first ever Student-Athlete Career Fair sponsored by Enterprise in February of 2015, UAB Student-Athlete Development hosted an Interview Day in March with Enterprise representative, David Fortner. He met with student-athletes about Enterprise’s open full-time, part-time, and internship positions. As a result of this interview day, JaCarey Heard, a rising sophomore on the Women’s Track Team obtained an internship position. This summer, JaCarey spent her time at Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Downtown Birmingham developing her sales and customer service skills. JaCarey stated, “This internship was better than I could have ever imagined. I recommend this internship to anyone who is looking for a real world, hands-on internship. I want to also say thank you to the Student-Athlete Development department at UAB for giving me this opportunity.”
ASHLEY NAUMOFF INTERNs FOR
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD
Ashley Naumoff of the Women’s Soccer team at UAB interviewed for a summer internship in corporate communications with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama. Though the interview went well, Ashley did not originally receive the position. Much to Ashley’s credit, following the missed opportunity, she continued to pursue internship opportunities and landed a marketing position for a company in Rhode Island. However, a couple of weeks prior to leaving for the Northeast, Ashley received an email from the Blue Cross’ recruiter who had conducted her original interview. Ashley was told that she made such a great impression during her interview, that the recruiter recommended her for the position even after interviews had passed. Ashley said that college soccer taught her to never give up and to always be persistent in everything you do. “I continued to work hard, refusing to be discouraged by failure and a few months later, I’m working for a nationally recognized company” said Ashley. She is currently interning in the Network Communications department at Blue Cross Blue Shield and has expressed how amazing the experience has been thus far.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT EDITION
RACHEL DANIELL STAYS AT UAB For MEDICAL SCHOOL
Rachel Daniell, a former UAB Women’s Tennis player started medical school at UAB on July 27; an opportunity she has understandably been excited for. Her first two years of medical school will be spent primarily in the classroom on the Birmingham campus. For her third and fourth years, she will move to Tuscaloosa for clinical rotations in the hospital. After her four years of “undergraduate” medical education, she will move into her specialty training, which can range three to seven more years. In August, Rachel finds out if she is accepted into a program where she would serve as a Navy doctor the first four years of her career. It would also mean she would receive a medical school scholarship. Rachel commented, “I can’t emphasize how much SAAC served as an aid in helping me arrive to this position of starting medical school. Through SAAC, I gained leadership skills, valuable mentors who have supported me so much, and I have learned the value of volunteering. I am hoping to stay involved volunteering in the community throughout my medical school experience. It’s amazing how much our SAAC has grown and how muchit has accomplished throughout my time as an undergraduate, so everybody keep up the great work!”
JAMES NAILE iN THE MILB
On June 10, 2015, James Naile of the UAB Baseball Team was selected in the MLB First Year Player Draft in the 10th round by the Oakland Athletics. His journey as a professional baseball player began in instructional league at the A’s complex in Mesa, Arizona where he spent 5-6 days practicing before moving into game format. Once the Arizona League (Rookie Level) began, James performed well in his first two appearances, earning him a call-up to play with the Lake Monsters in Burlington, Vermont, the Short Season A affiliate of the A’s. James quickly flew across the country and began playing and traveling with this new team all over the Northeast. He remains in Vermont where he will be playing almost every single day up until September 9th. James has said so far his experience in professional baseball has been “incredible.” “I’ve been to several new parts of the country, and met a lot of great people in the process” said Naile. James believes that one of the reasons the transition into professional baseball has gone so smoothly is due to the atmosphere that UAB provided him. James commented, “In particular, UAB Baseball and Coach Shoop helped prepare me not only as a player, but as a person which will always be more important.” James credits the coaches, and his former UAB teammates for allowing him the opportunity to continue working towards his dream .
Justin Mackey, Assistant AD JMackey@uab.edu Katie Letcher, Assistant Director KLetcher@uab.edu Caitlin Callaghan, SAAC Coordinator CCallagh@uab.edu Austin Kaiser, Coordinator AKaiser@uab.edu
#reachinghigher