Hokie Club
Opening up a door and walking out of green room at the Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan in New York City, Jaila Tolbert took the stage in front athletics directors, conference commissioners and the president of the NCAA.
The senior sat down in her chair along with five other student-athletes, who on that day (Dec. 5) had a voice on how their experience has been at the highest level in college sports.
No stranger to big-time events, Tolbert was poised and discussed what it was like handling failure once she arrived in Blacksburg.
"We all were high-achieving athletes in high school and in club and I think coming in I was expecting to do the same," Tolbert shared. "Then you come in and you fail – a lot. For me, it was learning how to deal with failure and how it takes a toll on an athlete, as well as taking lessons from those minor failures that you're going to experience throughout your career."
"You've taken steps to be where you are, so you're there for a reason."@jaila_tolbert shares wisdom on coping with failure as a student athlete. #sbjiaf pic.twitter.com/hxwtqvVOaj
— SBJ/SBD (@sbjsbd) December 5, 2018
The annual forum is put on by Learfield and Sports Business Journal and covers main issues dealing with intercollegiate athletics. Those who work in the industry and media members who cover it sit in on panels throughout the two-day forum to learn more about hot-topic items from those in the chair.
"During the panel we talked a lot about student-athlete well-being, changes we wanted to see in the coming years and some stuff on diversity, mental health, fairness in sports and sportsmanship," Tolbert said. "We also discussed the challenges we face as athletes between us and our relationships with other students, professors and our on-campus relationships with our advisors."
Tolbert first got to the Big Apple on Tuesday, Dec. 4 and was able to check out what New York City had to offer downtown.
"Since we were there a day early, we got to meet up with some of my Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) peers," Tolbert said. "We went to dinner and explored New York, which gave us a chance to just relax, hang out in the hotel and walk the streets of Times Square. We were right in the smackdab middle of Times Square.
"I absolutely love New York now. I love to explore. I had only been there a couple times when I was younger. So now, with me being older and remembering everything, I really enjoyed walking around Times Square and seeing all of the diversity and people was really fun. But one thing I will not miss is the traffic (laughing)."
One of those student-athletes she met up with on SAAC was Cincinnati swimmer Enna Selmanovic. Selmanovic, the SAAC vice chair, was Tolbert's roommate and the two have known each other for quite some time now.
"I love her," Tolbert said. "We've been working with each other for two years now and she's great. She actually is my roommate and we get along really well."
The pair started their terms at the same time at the beginning of the 2017-18 academic year on Division I SAAC. Tolbert represents the ACC and Selmanovic is the representative of the American, as only 32 student-athletes can represent the 32 conferences in Division I.
Selmanovic and Tolbert were the only two women on the six-person panel, while the others were De'Arius Christmas (Grambling State), Noah Knight (UMKC), Michael Nzei (Seton Hall) and Dalton Risner (Kansas State). The panel was moderated by award-winning journalist Jack Ford.
But before the conversation began on the stage, there was a little uncertainty right before it commenced, a curveball you could say.
"Then it was our turn to go on," Tolbert explained. "It was funny because I was really nervous due to us getting the questions beforehand and then we found out 15 minutes before that we weren't going to be using those questions during the segment.
"So, it put us on the spot but it was really cool because everyone did so well and nailed it. It ended up being a really conversational panel."
With so many topics discussed during the panel, Tolbert did find one thing important that she feels is helpful and a great reminder for other student-athletes.
"I think one thing that resonated with me from what someone else said on the panel was how to take advantage of your opportunities," Tolbert noted. "For me, that's kind of been a big thing. A lot of the opportunities that I've had, I've been pushed out of my comfort zone by doing them. And also knowing and meeting the right people in athletics and people who have been helping us with academic support and utilizing that to the best of our ability.
"I think a lot of student-athletes lack that and don't know that you can do a lot of amazing things rather than just play your sport."
Tolbert sure has done a lot of amazing things since her arrival to Blacksburg in 2015. From playing on the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team – Detroit to being named Tech's first-ever Senior CLASS Award candidate to representing the ACC on Division I SAAC. The Minnesota native has done so much for the Hokies but is not done yet.
She will wrap up her two-year term on Division I SAAC and with the ACC once she graduates, but not before she goes to the NCAA Convention and a few more meetings with the league office. Tolbert will graduate this May with a degree in international relations, with a concentration in business, and a minor in Chinese, and is ready to see what door opens next.