Earlier this week I got the opportunity to speak on a panel hosted by the Southern Conference as part of an education series they are doing throughout the 2020-21 school year. I was so excited when I got a call over Christmas break from Ken in our athletic department saying that others had recommended me as someone who would be a great fit for the "Power of Your Platform."
There is a link (password: ja+z=8@9 )to watch the recording, but I wanted to drop a little recap of my comments!
What responsibility, if any, do you feel to use your platform given the current climate in our country? Do you feel pressure to do so?
Because of how all three degrees relate, my position as a student athlete, and as a Christian, I feel a great responsibility to use the opportunities and passions that I have to make a difference. I’m also UTC SAAC Social Media coordinator, so I have been able to connect with athletes from all the sports on our campus to get input and share their voices. The past year has been difficult to support each other because usually the various teams are isolated from other teams or even from members of their own team. Social media can be used to make positive connections with each other and to impact farther than we could on normal face-to-face terms. I have seen so much heartache in the world over the past year, and it makes my own heart really sad, so I can use that to give me courage to speak out and do my part to point to the truth. People say that the truth hurts, but people need to hear the truth. The Bible says in Ephesians that if we speak the truth in love, we will grow together, and in John, that when we know the truth, it will set us free. Everyone should have that opportunity to know what is right and true and grow together and live free.
How can we make sure that these efforts are sustainable and lead to real progress?
I think that coaches can benefit from some of the same ideas that they tell us every day in practice. I think the key to this is the same as so many other things in both sport and life. Be consistent. Challenge yourself and go outside your comfort zone, but make sure it is something you can back up. It takes consistent effort to make a change, and you have to practice what you preach. Just like if you want to be a better athlete, you may tell yourself and your teammates that you have to work hard and do the little things like hydration and rehab, as well as going beyond that to devoting extra time each day to speed drills, but if you don’t consistently do it, it won’t make a lasting impact on your performance. In the same way, if you say you want things to change in the way your family, friends, or teammates are treated, just saying it or making one or two posts about it won’t make true progress. We don’t all have to do something big, but if we consistently put in the efforts to treat people right, stand up for those who are being brought down, day after day, things add up. Patience in the process is crucial to improving in sports, and it is even more crucial and evident in our efforts to make change in the world.
What do you hope to see happen as a result of the way you’ve used your platform?
I don’t really want people to see me as the main focus of my athletics or my social media, but I want there to be light in darkness and hope for the future to come through me. There are a lot more important things than building my own image, no matter how tempting and even fun that can be sometimes. I’ve found that the most rewarding things to come from using my platform are when it makes a difference in someone else’s life for the better. I may not know it at the time or even much later on, but I can know that people see what I do and what I say. Social media can be used to craft so many images, and right now, as that’s how most people are connecting to the world, what is shared can do a lot of damage. I want to be part of the positivity changes that are happening in the world even during a time when people can be pretty negative. Whether it is at the world in general or groups of people or ideas in general, there’s no reason to put down others or get in useless arguments. Again in the Bible in Isaiah it says to do right, seek justice, and defend the oppressed. Standing up for what is right and for all people as the valuable humans they are, encouraging them and teaching them is something I live to do every day.
This was a part of the SoCon's Unity Week, and each day had a different theme. Other athletes and coaches shared during the week on their school's SAAC social media pages! Some of our pictures are below.
