Student-Athletes Take Part in Leadership Conference

Aiken, SC (10/05/2019) — Several student-athletes from the University of South Carolina Aiken attended the Peach Belt Conference's 11th annual Women in Athletics Seminar.

The gathering gives female student-athletes who may be considering a career in athletics the opportunity to interact with professional women from a variety of disciplines.

"The [Peach Belt Conference] provides a wonderful opportunity for female student-athletes to learn from and interact with leaders throughout the NCAA and professional sports industry," said USC Aiken Director of Athletics Jim Herlihy.

"This event allows for networking opportunities and creates career pathways for these student-athletes in their lives after graduation."

Clarissa Wilburn, from the USC Aiken Athletics Department, and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Advisor Susan Hood, Class of '99, led the Pacers' contingent of student-athletes, representing all five NCAA women's teams on campus. They joined fellow student-athletes from four athletic conferences in the Southeast region who also participated in the event.

While at the seminar, attendees met professional women serving in myriad roles throughout the sports-business industry. Dee Kantner, a veteran National Basketball Association referee, gave the keynote address. In 1997, she was one of the first two women who officiated an NBA game. She has also officiated in 23 Final Fours and 15 national championship games.

"We are especially excited that two alumni, Jenna Beauregard, Class of '16, from Lenoir-Rhyne University, and Sydney Murphy, Class of '18, from the University of North Georgia, were also involved in the event through their professional roles at the universities they now serve," Herlihy said.

More than 100 female student-athletes from the Peach Belt Conference and other regional schools attended the event, including the following USC Aiken Pacers: