Tartans Rebrand Student-Athlete Leadership Development Program

Although the Tartans have not been able to compete this academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the athletics program has been busy developing leadership programming for its student-athletes. Formerly the Carnegie Mellon University Student-Athlete Leadership Development Program, the new Tartan Leaders of Tomorrow program has been constructed with the goal of better serving the individual needs of CMU student-athletes and increasing program recognition among student-athletes, alumni and the community.

For the past 15 years, the leadership development program has evolved into a program designed to complement the student-athlete’s education by marrying the technical and practical skills they have attained in the classroom with strong interpersonal, communication, and leadership skills. Many of the hallmark sessions that have been offered for many years will remain in the curriculum, including highly attended events with the Career and Professional Development Center, volunteering activities, and real-world leadership workshops with prominent alumni.

"I am proud of our team for developing a more robust leadership curriculum and program for our student-athletes," said Director of Athletics Josh Centor. "While there have been countless challenges associated with the pandemic, the utilization of technology has allowed us to access our alums, and their expertise, all over the world. We have been able to dream up new ways to connect our alumni and students, and to introduce a diversity of experiences and perspectives regarding leadership."

New to the Tartan Leaders of Tomorrow program is the Tartans Athletics Club (TAC) Board of Leadership Spotlight Series. Already in 2020, student-athletes had virtual leadership sessions with men’s soccer alumnus Jonathan Hall about "Humbling Professional Moments," and football alumnus Joe Ferris on "The Business Side of Sport." Hall’s session was geared toward getting over failures and taking constructive feedback to prepare for future opportunities and upward career trajectory. Ferris and guest speaker Pete Giorgio spoke about the business of sport, ranging from the building of new stadiums to designing technology within the stadium and how leagues and franchises think about tackling the latest trends and issues. Giorgio, a former Division III basketball player at Amherst College, is the leader of Deloitte’s U.S. Sports Practice. In this role, Giorgio helps a variety of leagues, teams, and governing bodies in areas including customer strategy, analytics, fan engagement/experience, growth strategy, innovation, technology, and organization excellence. Both sessions provided robust question and answer opportunities for the student-athletes to grow through mentorship.

Another leadership gathering this fall included team leader sessions run by Andrew Girard, the women’s tennis head coach, and Associate Director of Athletics Kim Kelly, who partners with Girard to lead Tartan Leaders of Tomorrow. The remote sessions dealt with upperclass leaders working together to learn new ways to motivate teammates, how to work with different personalities, and understanding how to have difficult conversations. Conversations with the Athletics Director also returned this fall and included a discussion for student-athletes with Centor on leadership philosophy, types of leadership, and other questions about leading in the athletics world.

"When discussing rebranding the leadership development program we thought it was important for our athletes to have a program that lays out the purpose," said Kelly. "There are so many different aspects to leadership and what we hope to achieve is that from day one of their first year we are teaching and educating our athletes on being leaders on their respective team, in the classroom, within the university and into their careers. We are developing Tartan Leaders of Tomorrow."

Future programming for the spring semester will include additional topics for the TAC Board Leadership Spotlight Series, the annual workshops with alums Mark Weinsten and Buddy Hobart, more opportunities for Conversation with the A.D., and a special directive with Niya Blair Hackworth, the Director of Inclusion at the NCAA. Hackworth will lead an interactive session about the importance of diversity and inclusion on our teams and leading with an inclusive mindset. She will show how a culturally diverse team can be a stronger team.