Six members of Latin’s Student-Athlete Advisory Board traveled to East Peoria on Monday to attend the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Student Leadership Conference. Accompanied by fellow student-athletes from around the state, Latin’s athletes participated in Student Advisory Committee breakout rooms and heard from two guest speakers.

Sophomore and girls basketball player Neena Uppalapati, one of the six athletes representing Latin, said, “I thought it was really interesting and cool to learn and connect with other student-athletes from other parts of Illinois.”

Latin was one of just 70 schools at the conference, where roughly 600 freshmen, sophomores, and juniors connected to enhance their leadership skills.

When they weren’t in breakout rooms specific to their sport, students had the opportunity to hear from the conference’s two guest speakers, Brittany Richmond and Omari Pearson. Both Richmond—a teen mental health speaker and anxiety expert—and Pearson—a former professional basketball player and advocate for education-driven life skills—sought to address the challenges facing today’s student-athletes.

The Latin attendees plan to carry the skills picked up from the conference back to the athletic settings they find themselves in.

Sophomore and boys basketball player Liam Calvert said, "I think the idea that stuck the most with me was the importance of building connections with teammates and coaches, even [through] little things, such as handshakes or high fives. By doing this, you can lift people up when facing adversity or [keep] intensity while ahead.”

As Latin’s athletes learned, teams can reap the benefits of athletic leadership beyond the field or court. Liam said, “You are building connections that can continue outside of sports.”