Q&A With Field Hockey Devin Brashear On Gopher Leadership Academy

Devin Brashear is a junior on the field hockey team and she talks about her experience with the Gopher Leadership Academy. The Gopher Leadership Academy is a yearlong initiative designed to engage sophomore and junior student athletes in leadership and professional development education. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION!

1. Describe your overall internship/volunteer experience?
   Being surrounded by fellow student athletes who are motivated to be the best leaders possible in the Gopher Leadership Academy was overall a positive experience.

2. What have you learned from your experience?
   During my time in the Gopher Leadership Academy I learned many lessons, but the most meaningful one was learning what kind of a leader I am on and off the field which allowed me to become a better overall person after understanding that information about myself.

3. How will this internship help you in your career moving forward?
   Every meeting was jam packed with useful information which I have taken with me and applied in my athletic, academic, and work-related endeavors.

4. What kind of networking have you done at your internship/volunteering?
   Guest speakers came to most meetings to discuss various topics ranging from mental health to career advice to breaking down who we are as individuals. The guest speakers had a wide range of college and athletic backgrounds with unique experiences that they shared with us so that we could see the value that college sports have beyond the field. The Gopher Leadership Academy is a wonderful opportunity where we were able to dive into our individual leadership skills while being surrounded by fellow student-athletes as we all strive to better ourselves, our teams, Goucher College, Landmark Conference, and the world as a whole.

5. Do you have a favorite experience or story? If so, what was it?
   One week we had a homework assignment to take the DISC Assessment. The DISC Assessment is a personality test that measures personality and behavioral styles and can be used to learn more about an individual's personality type to then improve in various areas. For the following meeting Rob Knox, the (former) Director of Athletic Communications for Towson University, who is a NCAA DISC facilitator came to speak about what our results meant. Knox broke down the basics of what the test results were saying but was more focused on us telling him what we taught they meant and how it can be related to our athletics. I enjoyed looking at the results and thinking back to a situation that would fit what the results were saying about me. My teammate was also in the Gopher Leadership Academy, Ari Hooper, and we compared results with one another pointing out which were true and which ones we felt did not fit. It was neat to hear someone who really knows me as an athlete and who shared the same knowledge of what the DISC assessment was talk about how my results were fitting as well as give me advice to improve the areas I lack in. For me this session was one of the most memorable and valuable as it was personalized but we also connected our results to a bigger picture to see how we can take the knowledge of ourselves and ensure we are being efficient leaders within our teams.