On the weekend of January 24 and 25, also the weekend of the historic Snowstorm Fern, I had the opportunity to participate in the Snell-Shillingford Symposium hosted by the Centennial Conference. Dickinson College is a member of a leading, competitive Division III conference, and one of the markers of the Centennial Conference’s impact and growth is this Symposium. Despite the snowstorm, Amber Thomas, the Assistant Executive Director of the Centennial Conference, organized a nuanced and inspirational conference. Members from each college in the Centennial Conference traveled to Haverford College to participate in group discussions and listen to speeches from women leaders in athletics.
In 1999, Jen Shillingford, Bryn Mawr College’s Athletic Director at the time, began the symposium to encourage young women to enter the field of coaching. Having been inspired by her mentor, Eleanor Frost Snell, a pioneer in athletics at Ursinus College, Shillingford enacted a conference to inspire young women to lead with confidence and to contribute to a largely male field.
The symposium has since grown to push women to enter athletics in any capacity.It facilitates conversations between female athletes at colleges within the Centennial Conference to enact change on their campuses through starting initiatives and programs to mend problems they see on their respective campuses.
With the theme Elevate, the symposium’s program reinforced the message that women can and should rise to their fullest potential despite setbacks or societal factors that may inhibit their perceptions of themselves.
On Saturday, Megan Weisheipl kicked off the speeches with a presentation focused on shifting mindsets and understanding the power in failure. A mindset and life coach, Weisheipl’s energy and crowd-involvement allowed members of the conference to envision their goals and create concrete plans to achieve them.
Dr. Amy Wilson, the Managing Director of Inclusion at the NCAA office took a historical approach to educating participants on the history and importance of Title IX, and how rules and guidelines under this precedent are actively in danger in the present sociopolitical state of collegiate sports in America. Passionate and educated, Dr. Wilson’s speech was a wake-up call for the importance of continuing to work towards equality in sports, and how there is always more work to be done, even if it feels like strides are being made.
Between speeches, several members of varying Centennial Conference schools joined for a panel on being a senior woman administrator in the conference. Dr. Val Gomez of Swarthmore College, Sandy Lagna of McDaniel College, Kelly Mannix of Johns Hopkins University and Annette Hunt-Shepherd of Gettysburg College joined in conversation to give insight on being a leading woman in sports. The Senior Woman Administrator role is one that students may not be aware of, but is no less important to providing a spotlight on the possibilities for women in athletics on our campuses. Dickinson Women’s Lacrosse Coach Kim Masimore is our campus’s SWA.
Saturday’s speeches concluded with an imaginative speech from Swarthmore Women’s Volleyball coach Harleigh Chwastyk. Coach Chwastyk gave a speech on “The Many Hats of Coaching,” supporting her talk with actual props coaches use on a day-to-day basis. As an athlete myself, I only had a sliver of an understanding of how much goes into coaching at the DIII level. Coaching is not just practice plans and game execution, but involves constant recruiting, empathy, challenging yourself and the players you guide and much, much more.
While the snowstorm impacted the logistics of the conference, Zoom allowed the final two speakers to provide their insights on administration and research. Sherryta Freeman, Lafayette College’s Athletic Director gave a speech on how to lead, be unafraid to ask questions and move up in the world of athletics through networking and hard work. Through grit, determination and a strong mindset, Freeman’s approach to administration is one that inspired attendees to lead and grow with gratitude.
The symposium’s talks concluded with a research presentation from the Centennial Conference’s very own Anna Goorevich. After graduating from Franklin and Marshall College (and being the Snell-Shillingford Symposium’s very first intern), Goorevich continued to work in sports and research. A PhD student at the University of Minnesota, Goorevich’s research focuses on menstruation in sport, gender equity in athletics and the gendered nature of coaching.
After a weekend of inspiration and conversation, invitees from all Centennial Conference schools left the symposium with a plan to enact change on their own campuses through programs, special game nights and other initiatives. The 27th annual Snell-Shillingford Symposium was a true representation of the continued growth of women in sports and a hopeful gathering for the future of athletics as we know it.