Four Gators attended the May 23-25 Black Student-Athlete Summit - Chief Borders (left), Alex Magee, Trinity Thomas and Xzavier Henderson.
Four Gators Have Impactful Experiences at Black Student-Athlete Summit
Tuesday, May 31, 2022 | Football, Gymnastics
These Gators traveled to Houston for the 2022 Black Student-Athlete Summit to network, learn about professional branding, and discuss ways to make their experiences and campuses better now & for the future🐊#BSASummit2022 #GoGators pic.twitter.com/oUlBPB3nXP
— The Gators Experience (@GatorsExp) June 2, 2022
Four Gators attended the annual Black Student-Athlete Summit May 23-25. The event took place in Houston, Texas on the campus of Rice University. Student-athletes learned self-empowerment skills to help them maximize opportunities in college and the professional realm.
🖤 a special THANK YOU to our sponsors / presenters and speakers / the 600+ students / staff who made #BSASummit2022 the best ever! pic.twitter.com/4ApeTAomAy
— Black Student-Athlete Summit (@BSASummit) May 25, 2022
Chief Borders, Alex Magee, Xzavier Henderson, and Trinity Thomas were the event's representatives for Florida. They had impactful discussions about issues in the Black student-athlete community. The three-day event opened with a Welcome Reception, where student-athletes nationwide were able to connect with coaches, administrators and professors. Throughout the event, attendees addressed drug addiction, mental health, racial conflict and activism.
Gator gymnast Magee enjoyed eye-opening debates between Black student-athletes. They began with 10 participants who spoke at the front of each room. These discussions allowed attendees to think differently about Black student-athletes as leaders and activists on their campuses. Magee described the conversations as refreshing. "It really made you think a lot deeper about certain things," she says, "I really love stuff like this."
In addition to debates, student-athletes were able to offer support to their peers during seminars. Borders of Gator football led a seminar about mental health. He guided student-athletes to tell their stories of mental struggles during the season. Then, he gave advice on how to overcome tough times and let out stress.
Providing mental support to fellow Black students came naturally for Borders. "I want to be able to help people and be a positive advocate for people… and inspire people to enhance their mentality," says the sophomore linebacker. As a health sciences major, Borders plans to continue helping others as a physician assistant after his football career.
In addition to student perspectives, the summit also displayed inspiring stories from leaders in the Black community. BSAS founder Leonard Moore was one of many speakers at the event. He gave a powerful speech about his journey to success. Moore spoke about many people throughout his life who told him he would amount to nothing. During his speech, Moore displayed the number "1.6" on the screen behind him. It wasn't until the end of his story that he explained the number represented his high school grade point average. Moore was told to give up many times, but he constantly refused. Now, Dr. Moore is a professor at the University of Texas and works with diversity programs to inspire the next generation.
Chief Borders reflects on the 2022 Black Student-Athlete Summit #bsasummit2022 @ChiefBorders @bsasummit @gatorsfb pic.twitter.com/iBWbR071X7
— The Gators Experience (@GatorsExp) June 3, 2022
Moore also discussed the importance of having passion for what you do. His words heavily impacted Magee. "That is very important to me because I want my life and what I do in life to mean something. I don't want it to lack purpose. When you do what you're passionate about you do it better and make a difference in the world," says the sophomore. She plans to carry passion into her career as a journalist and entrepreneur.
Overall, Gators value the relationships they made with fellow Black students during the summit. "I just loved the entire experience from the moment I got there to the moment I left. There were so many really good people there," says Magee. One individual Magee connected with made a statement that will stick with her forever. He stated, "Your mind will take you places that your body cannot take you." These words made Magee realize, "We are somebody's sister, brother, or whatever else… and we have to build ourselves up in a way that we can thrive in this world and get places that are not just from our sport."
For Borders, hearing different perspectives of life experiences impacted him. He says, "The most valuable takeaway was just being around people… and just taking away messages from each and every person." Borders related to stories of people who overcame difficulties to get to where they are today. "Everybody got their separate stories… but hearing it come from my peers made me feel better, you know, to say I'm not alone," Borders explains.
The event allowed Gators to gain valuable knowledge from a community of Black student-athletes and professionals. The experiences and conversations the Gators had will assist them in their future endeavors.
Players Mentioned
OLB
/ FootballEvan McKissack Press Conference
Monday, February 16
Brandon Harris Press Conference
Monday, February 16
Greg Gasparato Press Conference
Monday, February 16
Chris Foster Press Conference
Monday, February 16
