Hokie ClubIn a night full of enlightening perspectives, espnW hosted its "Campus Conversations" series inside the Student-Athlete Performance Center Monday night in front of an array of Virginia Tech female student athletes. The event, which included a speaking panel and breakout sessions, was one of only three campus visits for espnW throughout the country this year.
"It's a great opportunity for student-athletes to see people that have been in their shoes," said Reyna Gilbert-Lowry, Virginia Tech's Senior Associate Athletic Director, Student-Athlete Development and Senior Woman Administrator. "Especially for our freshmen coming in and our seniors about to graduate, hearing from former student-athletes that successfully navigated those transitions is helpful for them."
The initial speaking panel shared viewpoints from three former Virginia Tech student-athletes, including Kristi Castlin, Jaila Tolbert and Morgan Bowen. Michelle Berry, who is the SEC Network's Senior Marketing Director, joined the panel with questions led by ESPN college football writer Heather Dinich. Much of the panel's discussion focused on defining oneself's outside of sport, expanding professional networks and harnessing personal passions for a career when college is over.
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"To be able to have some sort of positive impact on young women and help answer their questions on this amazing panel was important to me," Dinich said, who frequented Blacksburg during her time as an ACC football blogger for ESPN.com. "Any opportunity I have to help student-athletes, not just student-athletes but students, I try to take those opportunities because life is hard, and the more help you have along the way, the better off you are."
The panel was particularly engaging for the student-athletes in attendance. At one point, Tolbert recommended a book that she found helpful to manage challenges at one point in her post grad life. The sound of clicked pens rang throughout the Student-Athlete Performance Center to take down the title of the book for future reference for some of the student-athletes.
"Being back in Blacksburg, to talk to a group of stellar young women, means the world to me," Tolbert stated, who now works for a startup in Atlanta that helps student-athletes maximize their NIL opportunities. "I hope I've been able to impart wisdom on these young ladies that life is not a linear path and there is always room for growth."
Gallery: (3-29-2022) espnW Campus Conversation
Following the panel, the dozens of female student-athletes in attendance were able to group into breakout sessions by class. These sessions were led by the speakers on the panel, with former Hokie student-athletes Jenny Root Price, Kai Young and M.C. Byrne joined in as well. These breakout sessions were designed to be a more relaxed setting for current student-athletes to ask questions without as large of an audience.
"I think I've learned that I can relate to a lot of female student-athletes," Emma Lemley, a freshman softball pitcher, optimistically claimed. "There's a lot of people around me that can help me if I ever need it. It's like being in a big family."