University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Travel West for 2023 Leadership U Retreat
6/28/2023 1:09:00 PM | Student-Athlete Development, Leadership U
Leadership U staff & student-athletes traveled to Southern California for our annual Leadership U Retreat June 22-25. During our stay at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, 18 of our Gopher student-athletes took a deep dive into building their personal brand, discovering their personal strengths and values, and exploring their self and social awareness. Each student-athlete rose to the challenge to grow personally and professionally through their engagement with our content, a visit from the Olympic Training Center President, and a Q&A panel with three Olympians. As a result, student-athletes from eight of our Golden Gopher programs were able to find new ways to recognize and value the differences in others to foster belonging and enhance team performance.
Attending the event was Leilani Valencia (softball), Luther McCoy (football), Zeyneb Sarioglan (tennis), Sydney Hicks (rowing), Peyton Hemp, Skylar Vetter, Sadie Lindsay, and Emily Zumwinkle (women's hockey), Sarah Moraw and Marissa Jencks (gymnastics), Hannah Constable, Emma Atkinson, Ava Hill, Nyalaam Jok, Ali Weimer, and Erin Reidy (women's CC/T&F), and Tanner Klumph and Hakeem Ford (men's CC/T&F).
However, the fun didn't stop there! Our student-athletes were certainly kept busy between training in elite-level facilities and jumping into the sand for some beach volleyball matches. Beyond that, we were lucky enough to take in all that California had to offer through trips to Mission Beach and the San Diego Zoo. As a result, the student-athletes were able to connect beyond the playing field and create a community of leaders across sport programs.
Overall, we are so proud of the student-athletes that joined us for stepping up to the challenge, being vulnerable and authentic, and taking the time to become intentional leaders to best serve themselves, their teams, and the larger Maroon and Gold community. We look forward to their continued growth and development as we meet monthly on the 2023-2024 Leadership Council. These student-athletes will also have the opportunity to earn the Leadership U Certificate of Excellence.
Speaker Series - Dr. Amy Beacom
Thursday, May 11
Speaker Series - Laura Halldorson
Wednesday, April 05
Speaker Series - Kamal Mohamed
Tuesday, February 14
Speaker Series: Tony Sanneh
Thursday, December 01