University of Minnesota Athletics
Bravence and Meyer Named Oct. M.V.G
11/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The University of Minnesota and the Gopher athletics student-athlete development program recognizes one male and one female student-athlete each month, who have gone above and beyond the call of duty as ambassadors of the maroon and gold. New this year, Gopher athletics will announce its 'Most Valuable Gophers' at the start of each month. This month's award goes out to men's swimming & diving's Ben Bravence and softball's Erica Meyer for their efforts throughout the year, specifically of the recent success of the inaugural Pro Day, held at TCF Bank Stadium.
Criteria for the award will be based on one or more of the three student-athlete development areas:
· Leadership - leadership roles on athletic team, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representatives, student group participation, campus panels, team hosts or other roles as ambassadors of the Maroon and Gold, campus committees
· Professional Development - embracing career opportunities on campus and programs offered by the athletics department, to include: internships, volunteer and part-time employment focused on career development.
· Commitment to Service - volunteering through MAGIC and on their own in the community (may or may not be career related). All hours considered are logged through the University of Minnesota system.
October 2014 Male MVG: Ben Bravence (men's swimming & diving)
Ben Bravence, along with community outreach coordinator Linda Roberts, was the driving force for Minnesota's inaugural Pro Day, held Oct. 23 at TCF Bank Stadium. With the help of Bravence and Roberts, over 45 local Minnesota businesses met with current Gopher student-athletes to build relationships, network and grow professionally for life after athletics. Bravence was the chair committee of the event and began the Pro Day planning just since May 2014.
Q: What your role has been and how involved with Pro Day.
Ben Bravence: It stemmed from an event that I was not able to go to earlier. I went in and talked to Peyton Owens. I asked him about establishing something more concrete that we can do for professional development with student athletes. We had the conversation and I kept going in week after week, until finally we decided on doing Pro Day. We got Linda Roberts (director of community outreach) involved and went from there.
We had meetings once or twice a week and when we got to the school year, and we had everything set. Linda handled connecting with the companies and I worked more on logistics with company information, recording surveys and filling in any role that needed to be filled. I would say that we all really did our part to pull this together. Peyton and I decided we were going to do LinkedIn photos. Erica Meyer, who's the other student athlete chair, did a fabulous job keeping me in check.
Seeing it all play out, are you satisfied with how everything turned out?
BB: Absolutely. I was nervous that it would be kind of a ghost town up there with all of the companies coming in for this event. As student-athletes went up to the event, you could see all the smiles on their faces, talking to these employers is a great feeling. And it's definitely satisfying.
As a junior, were you getting a chance to get out there and mingle with businesses as well?
BB: I was running around a bit during the event, but that's ok. I am already in the interview process at a few places, but happy to have this event and make sure it ran smoothly.
What's the plan for next year?
BB: We're going to make it bigger and better. This year we have 45 companies and now want to increase it as we go. For working on this just since May, hopefully we have double the amount of companies next year. I'm hoping these companies all leave with very positive experiences, and they come back next year along with 45 new companies. So yes, we will definitely have it next year and go forward with it.
October 2014 Female MVG: Erica Meyer (softball)
Erica Meyer has been a staple in the Gopher Athletics student-athlete development office. As a co-chair of the Pro Day Events, Meyer helped coordinate the event, along with Ben Bravence. Meyer has also grown her professional development as she was an intern in the office. While finishing up her competition with the softball team, Meyer was also interning in the office this past summer and helped coordinate the annual HopeDay Festival in Sept.
You had a large responsibility in working with Pro Day. Talk about your role and how it helped the event?
Erica Meyer: Officially, I was listed as a Committee Chair along with Ben Bravence. However, I do not think I deserve that much credit. My role was a little bit more behind the scenes. Over the summer, I heard that Ben was starting this event. I thought it was a great opportunity for student-athletes, so I decided to help. I joined the planning committee and helped provide suggestions on companies that should be invited and how to make the event the most beneficial to both the student-athletes and employers in attendance. I also assisted with the completion of small tasks such as preparing name tags and gift boxes, as well as setting up on the day of the event.
Now that it's done, looking back at it, what was a success and what would you like to see next year?
EM: Looking back at the event, I am pleased with the way things went. I was impressed with the number of student-athletes and number of companies in attendance. I was also happy to hear from both groups that they thought the event was worthwhile. In the future, I would like to see the event continue to grow. It would be nice to see a greater number and variety of companies there. I would also like to see it take place a little earlier in the recruiting season. Overall, I thought Pro Day was a great success.
You've had a chance to work closely with the Student-Athlete Development office as an intern. How did that experience help you in your professional development?
EM: The number one thing that being an intern in the office of Student-Athlete Development did for my professional development was show me the importance of effective communication. I learned how important it is to be able to transmit a clear and concise message across a variety of different mediums. I think this skill will be very helpful when I start my professional career.
One of your responsibilities was helping with HopeDay. How was that experience to be not just an attendee but to help plan the event?
EM: Assisting in the HopeDay planning process was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever been a part of. During the summer, I got to learn what it takes to put on an event of that size. Then on the day of the event, I got to see the great impact HopeDay has on everyone in attendance and on everyone involved. It was fun to see it all come together and see how much everyone enjoyed it.
As a student-athlete, you've done many hours of volunteer work. What's one of the best events you've worked and would encourage others to do?
EM: Besides HopeDay, I think my favorite volunteering event that I have ever been a part of is Camp Odayin, which is a camp for children with heart disease. For this event, a group of student-athletes take a day trip on the M.A.G.I.C. bus to their campsite. While we were there, we got to spend the day with these kids swimming, playing games, and participating in other fun activities. Camp Odayin had such a great impact on me because I got to see how much these kids still enjoy life despite what they are going through.
Players Mentioned
