By Jenny Scherer, WLA Director of Communications

Earlier this month, the Warhawk Leadership Academy was featured at the National Association for Academic and Student Athlete Development Professionals (N4A) Region III meeting at the Big Ten Conference office in Rosemont, Illinois.
 
Graduate students from UW-Whitewater's Higher Education Athletic Administration program presented on the WLA. The meeting featured two days worth of sessions on various research and topics of interest within the field of collegiate athletics.
 
With a wide variety of schools in attendance, the presentation put a spotlight on the Warhawk Leadership Academy and along with that, the Warhawk student-athletes and coaches' tremendous investment in and support of the programming, reiterating their continual pursuit of excellence in academics, athletics and life.
 
The Higher Education Athletic Administration graduate students' presentation, with assistance from Dr. Kristina Navarro, was titled "Leadership Development and Strategic Partnerships in NCAA Division III Athletics," and was a discussion on the vision of the athletic department, Higher Education Athletic Administration graduate students and Warhawk student-athletes to create the program despite limited dollars and resources, by cultivating unique partnerships across campus. Some of these partnerships include collaboration with Chancellor Beverly Kopper and Northwestern Mutual for career development programming. UW-Whitewater was the only Division III school to
present for a major session at the meeting.
 
Presenting at the N4A meeting representing UW-Whitewater's Higher Education Athletic Administration graduate program and Warhawk Athletics were Jenny Scherer, Megan Kruckenberg, Courtney Spiegler, Matt Hoppe, Chelsey Schulenburg, Lilly Petkowski, Monica Smith, Tyler Sallee and Jake Petersen. The entire program and its staff is focused on fulfilling the WLA's mantra, "Engaging Athletes, Preparing Leaders".