Emerging Leaders Seminar takes young professionals through a ‘hero’s journey’

During the first keynote speech of the 2025 Emerging Leaders Seminar, Samiya Terry found herself in tears.

As she listened to Jeremiah Brown, a former NFL player-turned-leadership speaker, she felt seen. Brown spoke about growing up in the projects in Brooklyn, New York. Born and raised in Compton, California, Terry felt like Brown represented who she could become.

“He came up from a low economic background, and it resonated with me because that’s something I see myself doing. As a Black woman, it gives me hope,” said Terry, an athletics leadership development intern at the California Collegiate Athletic Association.

“What the NCAA is doing is really impactful,” she added. “I’m pretty sure in the future, I’m going to be one of the products and success stories from this program.”

Terry and nearly 200 interns and graduate assistants from NCAA member schools, conference offices and affiliate organizations participated in the event at the national office Wednesday through Friday. 

The professional development event, which has been held every year since 2008, provides leadership, educational and transitional programming for selected participants. This year’s theme, Lead Like a Superhero: Unleash Your Superpowers, emphasized the importance of participants using their unique abilities and sense of leadership to positively impact the future of college athletics.  

“At the Emerging Leaders Seminar, we offer not only the opportunity for learners to network with their peers and decision-makers on the campus, conference and national levels of college athletics but also the opportunity to grow and enhance their abilities in a supportive and nurturing environment,” said Ashley Jocelyn, assistant director of leadership development at the NCAA. “At the seminar, learners find fellow emerging leaders and like-minded individuals who understand the challenges they face and will help them develop both as a person and as a hero.” 

Follow along on the “hero’s journey,” and discover the impact the Emerging Leaders Seminar had on these future leaders. 

To begin the hero’s journey, the participant needs to answer the call to adventure. Brown kicked off the seminar by talking about how participants can define their values. He challenged participants to identify their superpowers, more commonly known as their values.

“I don’t want us to chase titles; I want us to chase value,” Brown said. “There’s impact you can have at every level, but oftentimes we can think that it’s the title that gives us the most value. It’s not. It’s who we are in the title and the transformation that we provide an organization or team that matters the most.”

Siage Batten, a graduate assistant at Kennesaw State, said he came into the seminar unsure about the direction of his career. After the session with Brown, Batten found his value proposition: He helps student-athletes promote brand awareness and gain name, image and likeness opportunities.

“I learned to stand firm on your values. When you know what you want, it can guide you to a path to help you gain clarity and understanding,” Batten said.

The next step in the hero’s journey is to meet the mentor. In the Careers and Capes session, learners chose an industry breakout session they were interested in learning more about. Within the sessions, which covered careers such as student-athlete development, business, communications, compliance, event management, inclusion, coaching and sports medicine, participants were able to engage and connect with professionals in those areas.

Additionally, the participants had the opportunity to meet with athletics administration and national office staff.

In his keynote speech, Brown stressed that young professionals should not try to network but instead build genuine connections.

“When you shake a leader’s hand, we’re not just going to talk about the title we have. We’re going to talk about the transformation and value that we bring, because it is the value we bring to organizations that we are able to unlock. That’s our superpower.”

An important step in any career is figuring out what it takes to cross the threshold. From receiving a first job offer to getting a dream job, participants learned about what it takes to work in the sports industry. 

In the Heroes in Training session, learners had the opportunity to metaphorically pack their duffel bags with the tools they’ll need as they advance in their careers within college athletics. In another session, DeLaina Sarden, principal at Parker Executive Search, taught participants the best practices to develop a road map for the next steps in their professional careers. Kim Oren, vice president of human resources at the NCAA, outlined how participants could make an impact in the first 90 days of their jobs. 

As challenges are a part of life, these young professionals will have to face their kryptonite. In his Clothes not Capes discussion, Mark Trumbo, associate director of leadership development at the NCAA, asked participants to identify three things that could get in the way of them maximizing their potential. 

“When you know what your kryptonite can be — fear, anxiety, doubt, discipline failure, complacency — it’s one thing to name it, it’s a different thing to attack it,” Trumbo said. “Your ability to prioritize your values and your principles over your feelings is what’s going to get you forward.”

Kobe Mosley, a McLendon fellow at the Horizon League, said Trumbo’s message struck him and inspired him to face his career fears.

“I realized a lot of the internal fears I have are placed on myself. Mark said, ‘Fear doesn’t stop you from death, it stops you from living.’ I want to keep doing the things that make me happy and advance my career,” Mosley said.

After understanding how to overcome adversity, participants unlocked how to find purpose in their careers. In Trumbo’s session, he spoke to learners about the pursuit of purpose to guide them closer to finding their true calling in life.

“The superpower, which is your ‘why,’ will keep you going,” Trumbo said. “Go where you are celebrated, not tolerated. Make sure you exist in this world to elevate, not just habitate. Remember that there is nobody, absolutely nobody, like you.”

He added that while working in the sports industry can be a grind, it is up to the participants to find happiness in their day-to-day work.

“Find a way to turn the daily grind into daily joy,” Trumbo said.

Kerri McClay, a graduate assistant at Ball State, noted that the Emerging Leaders Seminar helped her strive toward fulfillment instead of a title or position.

“There’s no better time to take risks than now and try your hand at absolutely everything. Figure out what your niche is, what you’re interested in, where you thrive,” McClay said. “This is the best experience I’ve had. I have learned invaluable lessons from such impressive role models.”

 Jaymonte Mcleod, director of external communications at the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, said, “I learned how to know myself, know my boundaries and believe in myself. Knowing my true superpower, positivity, is what I bring to my team means something.”

Finally, to end the program, participants reflected on their transformation. Many noted that they will take the lessons learned and will bring them back to their current roles.

Will Bush, a leadership graduate assistant at Missouri, said he will take the lessons he learned at this program and share them with the student-athletes he serves on campus. 

“It really just gives a feeling of empowerment, being in a room of like-minded individuals, being surrounded by people who have the same mission of wanting to just make everyone around them better,” Bush said. 

“I just can’t help but feel super pumped up and inspired after this.”