If you have ever heard my head coach speak, you have likely heard him say "You have to be willing to plant a seed for a tree you will never shade under."
These words are the foundation of Auburn Equestrian, but over the last four years, they have become the foundation for every aspiration I have for my own career. As student-athletes, we have several main ways that we directly or indirectly contribute to the success of our teams and the reputations of our programs. Whether it is in competition, in the classroom, in the weight room, or in the community, we all have areas that we may excel in more than others. In my own career, community service has been particularly central to the opportunities and achievements that I happened upon during my senior year. In combination with utilizing all the resources we have available within our own teams, colleges, and AuburnYou, community service was a key component of my applications for graduate school, postgraduate scholarships, and other awards.
At a little over 100 hours of community service over three and a half years, I am by no means the superior example of community service in the Southeastern Conference, at Auburn, or even within my own team. I started going to the Food Bank of East Alabama my freshman year because I was expected to involve myself in something, but it had a huge part in shaping my student-athlete experience. Had it not been for the encouragement from my team, I would have not been involved in any individual community service because I would have told you that I had no time. As athletes, it is daunting to think about giving away the little free time we do have in a day. I urge you to be selfless with your time. More importantly, be selfless with your time in silence. These hours became an opportunity to invest in something bigger than myself. My time in the community allowed me to experience Auburn from a perspective that did not include the classroom or gameday. It made it so much more meaningful to represent Auburn as a student-athlete because it connected me to the community I was representing.
While I am not advocating that community service be done as a means to an end, what I did not realize at the time was that I was making a significant investment in my future. In combination with guidance from the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, Auburn Equestrian, and AuburnYou, community service has led to several unique opportunities that resulted in acceptance to my first choice graduate program and two postgraduate scholarships. There are so many career resources available to us as student-athletes and taking full advantage of those resources is a key element to finding opportunities after our athletics eligibility has ended. There are several things in particular that I did that I believe have played a strong role in my success.
Utilize your network. It is bigger than you think it is. Speak up about your interests to your coaches, your professors, previous employers, and athletics administrators. You never know who might have an opportunity for you. If you feel like you don't have a network, start building one. Go to career fairs, introduce yourself to speakers, and make appointments with the Office of Professional Career Development. If you don't know where to start, Michelle Keesee and Meagan Hooshyar with AuburnYou are great people to start with.
Conduct informational interviews. Informational interviews were undoubtedly the most valuable use of my time when exploring career interests and graduate school possibilities. Professionals are generally very willing to have a twenty minute conversation with you; they want to help emerging professionals. This is the best way to start forming connections in a field of interest. With the help of my head coach and several Auburn Athletics administrators, I was able to do 5 informational interviews my junior year and they were pivotal to deciding my direction going into graduate school.
If you are interested in graduate school, make yourself aware of the postgraduate scholarships that are offered to student-athletes. There is information published by Auburn Athletics, the Southeastern Conference, and the National Collegiate Athletics Association on the different postgraduate scholarship opportunities that are available. Learn what the requirements are for these scholarships early in your college career so that you have time to make yourself a competitive candidate.
Learn about the different opportunities the National Collegiate Athletics Association offers for current student-athletes. The Leadership Development Team for the NCAA has so much information published about different forums and conferences that provide unique networking and growth opportunities. Familiarize yourself with these events so that you know how to apply to apart of them.
Pick a cause, organization, or activity that is separate from athletics to be involved in. I accumulated a decent number of community service hours somewhat by chance because community service was a central part of my team's culture. If you have not yet reached your senior year, you have the opportunity to be intentional with your time. Pick a campus organization or community service project and go deep with it. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is a great organization for student-athletes who are looking for opportunities to be more involved. If you are interested in being apart of SAAC or have questions about community service, Janice Robinson is a great contact for help with both of those areas.
The ways in which I chose to utilize the resources available to me at Auburn have helped me create a future that I am eager to begin as I start my life without sports. The suggestions above are just a start to the ways you can give yourself a step up, whether that be applying for graduate school or applying for jobs. Community service was the element that tied all of these components together for me. However you choose to go about it, there truly is no limit to the doors that can be opened if you introduce yourself to the people who are here to guide and encourage you in your life after athletics.