Friday, May 14, 2004

            USM's Amanda Valeriani to Attend NCAA Leadership Conference

	GORHAM, Maine  --  Junior Amanda Valeriani (South Portland, Maine) of the 
University of Southern Maine women's soccer team is among the 321 student-athletes 
from across the nation that have been selected to attend the eighth annual 
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Leadership Conference at Disney's 
Coronado Springs Resort and the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena 
Vista, Florida.  The conference is being held May 30 through June 3.
	Valeriani is the eleventh USM student-athlete to be selected to attend the 
conference in its seven-year history.  Other former USM student-athletes to attend 
the conference include Heather Gilmour and Ed Pike (1997), Kim Cochrane and 
Michael McCullum (1998), Michelle Cloutier (1999), Kevin Faria (2000), Tina West 
and Tony Coates (2001), Jessica Short (2002) and Kati Libby (2003).
	A three-year member of the Huskies' soccer (2001-2003), she has scored four 
goals and been credited with four assists for 12 points in 47 career games.  She 
received the Athletics Department's William B. Wise Scholar-Athlete Award for the 
2002-03 academic year, and has been on the Dean's List three times.
	Outside the athletic arena, Valeriani has been actively involved with various 
Athletics Department outreach programs.  Among some of those activities are the 
annual USM Community Halloween Party, Husky Pen Pal program, the Relay for Life 
Cancer Walk and American Red Cross blood drives.
	According to the NCAA news release announcing the conference and the list of 
student-athletes selected to attend, "The 2004 NCAA Leadership Conference is 
designed to enhance student-athletes' leadership and communication skills and to 
enable them to become more effective leaders and motivators when they return to 
their campuses.  The convention setting provides the student-athletes with an 
opportunity to create dialogue surrounding topics that effect them on campus in 
their communities. The conference also provides them with exercises to enhance 
their decision-making and problem-solving skills, and improve planning and 
priority management.
	"The student-athlete leaders were selected from a total of 1,201 nomination 
forms that were submitted by college and university officials who have NCAA 
CHAMPS/Life Skills programs at their schools.  They represent Divisions I, II and 
III, and fall, winter and spring sports, including soccer, tennis, basketball, 
cross country/track, lacrosse, field hockey, wrestling, swimming, football, 
volleyball, bowling, softball, ice hockey, golf, baseball, gymnastics, rowing, 
diving, alpine skiing, Nordic skiing and equestrian. There also will be five 
students from abroad attending the leadership conference who will participate in 
the discussions and skills enhancement sessions with the NCAA student-athletes.
	"During the conference, student-athletes will discuss a variety of topics 
that are relative to their life as student-athletes on campus and beyond. They 
will also discuss issues that are division-specific and consider possible 
solutions to the issues. A total of 52 coaches, athletics administrators and 
program facilitators will join the student-athletes at the conference. In 
addition, members representing the national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee 
(SAAC) also will participate in the discussion sessions and group activities. SAAC 
provides feedback to NCAA committees and councils regarding student well-being 
issues and is considered the "voice" of the student-athlete within the NCAA 
governance structure.
	Following the leadership conference, the student-athletes will be asked to 
share their experiences and topic discussions with their campus SAAC, as well as 
other campus leaders. The participants are also asked to develop a self-directed 
project that will address an issue on their campus or in their community and 
implement the project once they return to their schools.
	"Selection criteria for the conference include the student-athletes' 
demonstrated ability and strong desire to be a leader and the student-athletes' 
potential to benefit significantly from a leadership development experience. In 
order to be eligible for the conference, the student-athletes must be in good 
academic standing, and must have athletics eligibility remaining in the following 
academic year. A committee comprised of CHAMPS/Life Skills coordinators from 
member institutions and former NCAA student-athletes review the nominations to 
determine the final selections. The committee also works to ensure that the 
conference includes a diverse group of student-athletes, coaches and 
administrators."