I cannot believe it’s over. The tables are back in their places, our bags are packed and all of us are back to our respective hometowns and colleges. It’s a bittersweet ending to such an incredible trip. It’s hard to believe that in just 96 short hours I met tons of incredible student-athletes, collegiate coaches and AD’s, conference leaders, and NCAA officials. But I think it’s even harder to believe that it’s really done (and that I stay dressed up the WHOLE time.)

The past few days have been more than I could have imagined. The people, the information, even just the warm Summer Indiana air made this experience magical. Truth be told, I could probably write a very long, detailed blog on the whole trip, but I don’t want to bore you, so here’s my top ten favorite things (in no particular order) from this year’s 2012 NCAA Career in Sports Forum.

1. The Fellow Student-Athletes – As cliché as it sounds it’s true. Along with the future NFL and NBA players I had the pleasure of meeting I also met incredibly talented student-athletes who will be making strides in the future. A number of people offered great insight into the rest of my college years and the rest of my career as a sports fanatic wanting to work in this profession.
   

   All 300 of us

2. The DiSC Assessment – Surprisingly enough I’m an “iD” in this behavioral assessment, which means I’m outgoing and a people person but like being in charge every so often – scarily true right? It was really a great tool for all of us and highly recommend everybody to take it to learn what sort of personality you have. By the end of the weekend, all of us were analyzing each other’s personality and making fun of it a bit, but hey it was incredibly useful and I’m thankful we were offered the chance to do it.
   

   CSF Gear

3. Clint Bruce – This man epitomizes what every man should strive to be. A United States Naval Academy graduate who not only played in the NFL but was also a Seal who led some of our nation’s finest. He not only taught us to choose to be excellent, but also stressed to never make a decision without knowing the “why” to what you’re doing. My next blog post will be dedicated to his keynote speech.
   

   A Standing Ovation and Some tears for Clint Bruce

4. Discovering Downtown Indy – Every night I was in Indy, I had the chance to walk around and explore this capital city. I saw Colts Stadium, the Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Stadium, the Pacers Arena, the Convention Center and so much more – it’s definitely a sporty city. After walking around, I realized how much I take living in both San Diego and NYC for granted.
   

   Colts Stadium

   

   Downtown Indy

5. NCAA Hall of Champions – I only to one day to find myself among the amazing young men and women plastered to the brick walls. We got the distinct opportunity to not only eat dinner but also explore the museum all to ourselves. It currently ranks number one in my favorite museums, closely followed by the Newseum in Washington, D.C.
   

   Hall of Champs

   

   James, NYU Runner, and the XC Booth

   

   Loving Me Some WoPo

6. The Social Media Session taught by @NCAADana – Along with the insightful information that the NCAA has access to all of our social media, I learned a lot about how to network via Social Media and how to market yourself correctly to future employers. As a social media fiend, (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linked-In, you name it) I really enjoy learning about the implications and importance of this rising phenomenon. It was also really cool to make a hash-tag live in the audience for the conference, #2012NCAACSF
   

   The Four NYU Reps Instagrammed

    

7. The Alternative Career in Sports Panel – During this panel, we got to listen to a few professionals working in the gaming, broadcasting, marketing, and law fields. It was very eye opening for me, seeing as I didn’t even realize that some of these fields existed and applied to sports. It was interesting to note how much of an impact that even the gaming industry had on intercollegiate athletics.
   

   With My Heisman Trophy, Pose And All

8. The Color Group Meetings – As I wrote earlier, we were each divvied up into different groups of around 35 people. I found these sessions to be very informative, not only about intercollegiate athletics, but about myself as well. Going back and looking through my workbook, my notes demonstrate a need for me to work in an environment that is active, team-oriented and showcases my outgoing personality. In these sessions I also learned how to effectively communicate, something I’ve been working on both personally and on the field. This aspect of the conference was very useful, plus I met some quality people I will stay in touch with from my group.
   

   Red Team

   

   Annie and I, Someday I hope to be like her

9. The Networking Tools – In a matter of four days, I did not expect a sudden change in any of my behaviors, but man, I sure do notice now how much my social skills have changed. I’m now more likely to start a conversation with a random stranger, and on the way home, as luck would have it, I began a conversation with an old NCAA swimmer from UNC Chapel Hill. He gave me a ton of advice on that short 55 minute flight and I greatly appreciate him spending the time talking to me, considering the fact that he was probably exhausted from the Bachelor’s Party in New Orleans he was flying from.
   

   Roomie, Former teammate and fellow Surf Soccer player

10. The Inspiration – Looking back through my workbook, I have a number of inspirational quotes lining the margins of each page. You know me, I love quotes, so I throughly enjoyed each session filled with bits and pieces of motivation and advice. Here’s one: “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity”

I came to this conference thinking I’d come out of it with hundreds of contacts and a known career path, but it turns out that I’m even more at a loss. The thing I did find was that athletics is truly a passion of mine because it connects us all on such a deep level. Athletics are greater than all of us.

Hope all of my fellow NCAA CSF’ers got home quickly and safely!