Athletics' SEA of Change returns for second year to continue fostering inclusion

An initiative by Grand Valley’s Athletics Department to foster engagement, communication and understanding between student athletes returned for its second year on Aug. 26. 

SEA (Supporting, Elevating, Activating) of Change united more than 350 student athletes to listen to speakers and connect through workshops addressing issues of diversity and inclusion. 

Assistant volleyball coach Callie Youngman, one of the initiative’s committee members, said feedback from participants allowed the program to build on last year’s experience and promote connections with incoming students.

“We’ve started to develop a big core of internal and external partners that our student-athletes are saying they connect with,” Youngman said 

"We used the feedback from last year and our continuing discussions to add new topics such as the intersections of mental health and systems of oppression. It’s something our student athletes have been really asking for.”

One of those external partners, Kenton Mack, returned for Friday’s discussion. Mack, a former basketball player at Northern Michigan University, is a co-founder of Athletes Igniting Action, a nonprofit which seeks to develop empowerment in college athletes for social and racial justice.

Mack and former Penn State track and field star Audra Koopman delivered the keynote address, reminding students that their identity as a student athlete is fleeting. 

“You get so involved in being a student athlete that you forget it only lasts four years, and then you are something else after that,” Mack said.

This year’s workshops covered issues related to social action in college athletics, the LGBT community and understanding the Black student experience. 

Student athletes who participated in last year’s discussions progressed into Tier 2, focusing on knowledge and theory, and helped incoming first-year and transfer students better grasp their Tier 1 path. 

“I never had the opportunity to have anyone close to my age come back and speak to me, especially topics that were not mandates like Title IX, sexual assault and misconduct,” Mack said. “What Callie and the SEA of Change committee has put together in terms of diversity and inclusion is incredible.”