The Transformation of Student-Athlete Development through the Lens of an Athlete
An Interview with Cameron Spera
“If you put energy and effort into something you're going to get something out of it. But if you don't then you're not and it's really that simple.”
As a former student-athlete for Syracuse University, Cameron Spera understands the expectations young men and women are held to on a daily basis. Through her experience as the vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, SAAC, Spera fell in love with the ins-and-outs of college athletics.
“So I think my involvement in SAAC is really one of the main reasons why I'm here today because that was really how I got introduced to all of this. I kind of saw what it was all about and I loved it.”
Spera understands the power student-athletes possess to become catalyst of change in their communities and wants to support them through student-athlete engagement.
“I’ve seen it since I’ve started to get more and more involved in it in these last couple of years, evolving from being a student-athlete to now being in a staff position like my position didn't exist when I was in school.”
The growth within student-athlete engagement is on the rise and Spera knows that eventually all athletic programs will begin to invest in the holistic enrichment of their players.
Spera: “Mark has been at Syracuse for, I think, 7 years now but my junior year of college was his first year in charge of SAAC. And so he getting into that position, he decided to open it up to the spirit team members. So that’s how I came into that. It was sort of like right place right time. Ya know I just happened to be ya know a junior that year, that sort of thing. But yeah I did get involved my junior year and really liked it and just getting to know a lot more about the athletic department and meeting administrators meeting other student-athletes and that sort of thing and we also, SAAC has a huge focus on community service as well. So I really enjoyed that as well and then my senior year I was vice president. So that was pretty cool and that actually allowed me to go to some different ACC conferences. And kind of see some things and learn some stuff that I had not been a part of before. So I think my involvement in SAAC is really one of the main reasons why I'm here today because that was really how I got introduced to all of this. I kind of saw what it was all about and I loved it. Again ya know, that was a place right time, but I'm really glad that I was able to be a part of that.”
Ellis: “We were asked to do an interview on someone who has a position that we could see ourselves being in in the future and I'm really passionate about Player Development specifically I know you guys call it player engagement but I feel like players, especially professional athletes, I guess it's starting to catch on with college athletes too they’re in a really good position or they can brand themselves as more than just athletes and they can use like their social capital as ways to reach out in different ways and become a better person. So my question to you is how do you feel like this industry is growing and will continue to grow for like more universities to get into make this more of a priority?”
Spera: “I’ve seen it just in the last couple of years that I’ve started to get more and more involved in it, evolving from being a student-athlete to now being in a staff position like my position didn't exist when I was in school. And so to be able to come in and literally have a completely new role does kind of show you this growth and misunderstanding from the perception of the schools or whatever organization it might be. This is something that's really important and you hinted at they are more than students, they are more than athletes. There’s so much other stuff going on in their lives that we need to help them with and know about, and help them develop through. So that's kind of how I see it as something that, especially at Syracuse, that more people are opening their eyes to it and the problem, if I would have to pinpoint one thing, is just getting the resources. It's really difficult to saywe need to take resources away from something else and put it into this you know it and you don't want to have to do that but kind of another trend not as bad a lot of donors and different outside organizations are really also getting involved and in athlete development as well. So that's kind something that’s been really interesting to us this idea of sponsorship rather it be from an individual or a corporation example for example, Louisville’s life skills program got sponsored by I believe it’s UPS, so now they have this big giant company that’s sponsoring all of their different programs and that sort of thing. So in that respect I see it gaining more and more attention from sort of these outside organizations which is really important because that’s where the funding and the opportunities are going to come from.”
Ellis: “Follow-Up question. So if you could tell your junior year self-anything that might be helpful to you and your career now, what would it be?”
Spera: “It’s actually very funny that you asked me that because junior year is when I decided that this is what I wanted to do that I didn't want to go through with what I was studying in college.
And that was really when I realized it and so it's funny that you ask me that because I see myself going back to that moment and like actually having that kind of experience where I had to tell myselfthis is the time I need to figure it out. AndI mean, I'll just explain like the real life situation to you and that might be able to answer your question then was that what I was studying with something that gave me a lot of anxiety. I was constantly worried about it. I never had fun. I wasn't I honestly was not interested in it and that's really hard to say because you're paying to go to an amazing school. You got into the amazing school. You want to feel like you belong there and that it's right for you. And that's a really hard thing to come to terms with and so I had a lot of difficult conversations with other people and just within myself really to come to the point to say okay this might not be what I want to do, but I have to get something out of it because now I'm 21 and I have one year left of college and I can't really change my major or whatever, you know at this point. I'm too far gone.So that sort of turned into my mantra if you put energy and effort into something you're going to get something out of it. But if you don't then you're not and it's really that simple and it might sound too simple, but it's true and I think for me it was understanding, okay this might not be what I want to do with my life, but I can really learn a lot. So then I kind of came away with well, I’m learning how to write, to speak there's no problem with being a better communicator than I was before and I think in a lot of ways it has helped me in my job and jobs that I've had it so I don't I wouldn't say that I regret my choice at all. To keep going through broadcast journalism, but yeah I just kind of laughed a little bit because it’s something I kind of experienced and I'm happy that I did it and that I had people to support me through that time as well.
Ellis: “We were asked to do an interview on someone who has a position that we could see ourselves being in in the future and I'm really passionate about Player Development specifically I know you guys call it player engagement but I feel like players, especially professional athletes, I guess it's starting to catch on with college athletes too they’re in a really good position or they can brand themselves as more than just athletes and they can use like their social capital as ways to reach out in different ways and become a better person. So my question to you is how do you feel like this industry is growing and will continue to grow for like more universities to get into make this more of a priority?”
Spera: “I’ve seen it just in the last couple of years that I’ve started to get more and more involved in it, evolving from being a student-athlete to now being in a staff position like my position didn't exist when I was in school. And so to be able to come in and literally have a completely new role does kind of show you this growth and misunderstanding from the perception of the schools or whatever organization it might be. This is something that's really important and you hinted at they are more than students, they are more than athletes. There’s so much other stuff going on in their lives that we need to help them with and know about, and help them develop through. So that's kind of how I see it as something that, especially at Syracuse, that more people are opening their eyes to it and the problem, if I would have to pinpoint one thing, is just getting the resources. It's really difficult to saywe need to take resources away from something else and put it into this you know it and you don't want to have to do that but kind of another trend not as bad a lot of donors and different outside organizations are really also getting involved and in athlete development as well. So that's kind something that’s been really interesting to us this idea of sponsorship rather it be from an individual or a corporation example for example, Louisville’s life skills program got sponsored by I believe it’s UPS, so now they have this big giant company that’s sponsoring all of their different programs and that sort of thing. So in that respect I see it gaining more and more attention from sort of these outside organizations which is really important because that’s where the funding and the opportunities are going to come from.”
Ellis: “Follow-Up question. So if you could tell your junior year self-anything that might be helpful to you and your career now, what would it be?”
Spera: “It’s actually very funny that you asked me that because junior year is when I decided that this is what I wanted to do that I didn't want to go through with what I was studying in college.
And that was really when I realized it and so it's funny that you ask me that because I see myself going back to that moment and like actually having that kind of experience where I had to tell myselfthis is the time I need to figure it out. AndI mean, I'll just explain like the real life situation to you and that might be able to answer your question then was that what I was studying with something that gave me a lot of anxiety. I was constantly worried about it. I never had fun. I wasn't I honestly was not interested in it and that's really hard to say because you're paying to go to an amazing school. You got into the amazing school. You want to feel like you belong there and that it's right for you. And that's a really hard thing to come to terms with and so I had a lot of difficult conversations with other people and just within myself really to come to the point to say okay this might not be what I want to do, but I have to get something out of it because now I'm 21 and I have one year left of college and I can't really change my major or whatever, you know at this point. I'm too far gone.So that sort of turned into my mantra if you put energy and effort into something you're going to get something out of it. But if you don't then you're not and it's really that simple and it might sound too simple, but it's true and I think for me it was understanding, okay this might not be what I want to do with my life, but I can really learn a lot. So then I kind of came away with well, I’m learning how to write, to speak there's no problem with being a better communicator than I was before and I think in a lot of ways it has helped me in my job and jobs that I've had it so I don't I wouldn't say that I regret my choice at all. To keep going through broadcast journalism, but yeah I just kind of laughed a little bit because it’s something I kind of experienced and I'm happy that I did it and that I had people to support me through that time as well.
Duration: 8:20
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