The Lake Superior State University athletic department has announced that the former “LSSU Women’s Walk” will be rebranded as the Lake Superior State Women’s Athletic Symposium. The inaugural Lake Superior State Women’s Athletic Symposium is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 5:30 p.m. and will be held in the Cisler Center.
The rebranded event will be used as an opportunity for girls and women in sports in Sault Ste Marie and the surrounding Eastern Upper Peninsula community to learn, listen, and network with members of the LSSU athletic department. The symposium will give attendees the chance to meet and interact with female role models. In addition, the event will act as a professional development opportunity for Lake Superior State coaches and administrative staff.
The Lake Superior State Women’s Athletic Symposium will begin with a social in the Cisler Center’s Superior Room that will include hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, raffle baskets and alumni/student-athlete networking. During this time, attendees will have the opportunity to meet and connect with current female athletes at Lake Superior State including members of the NCAA Division II women’s basketball, tennis, volleyball, track and field/cross country, and golf teams as well as the ACHA women’s hockey team.
At 5:30 p.m., keynote speaker, Kris Dunbar, will open the schedule of events with an address on the current state of women’s athletics. Dunbar, who currently serves as the commissioner of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), was formerly a student-athlete, coach, and athletic director at Lake Superior State. The Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. native has been an advocate and role model for women in sports throughout her highly successful career in athletics.
Following Commissioner Dunbar’s address, there will be four different breakout sessions available for guests to attend. Each session will feature a unique topic related to collegiate athletics. The sessions, which are scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m., include:
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“The LSSU Student-Athlete Experience” presented by members of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee
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“Mental Skills Session” presented by Dr. Emily Wright, Ph.D. in Kinesiology with a concentration in Sports Psychology from Michigan State
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“Understanding the Collegiate Recruiting/Compliance Process” presented by LSSU administrators including Gabe Schmidt, Assistant AD of Compliance/Internal Operations
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“Collegiate Athletics from a Coaching Perspective” presented by LSSU coaches
In addition to the keynote speaker and the breakout sessions, the Lake Superior State Women’s Athletic Symposium will also announce the winners of the LSSU Women’s Raffle. Raffle tickets are $20 per ticket and are available by contacting Women’s Basketball coach, Brandon Lokken at [email protected]. The winners will be announced following Kris Dunbar’s address.
Since the creation of the Women’s Walk in 2008, the raffle has raised over $400,000 to benefit each of the university’s six NCAA Division II women’s sports teams. Athletes from the LSSU volleyball, basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, and track and field teams sell raffle tickets to raise funds for their respective teams, allowing them the means to compete at the NCAA Division II level.
All attendees of the Lake Superior State Women’s Athletic Symposium will receive a complimentary ticket to a Laker hockey game.
The Lake Superior State Women’s Athletic Symposium is open to the public and free of charge. Those interested in attending can register here.
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