Byrd, Fincher Attend Second Annual BIG EAST Transition Game

NEW YORK - Xavier women's basketball players Jada Byrd and Kindell Fincher attended the second annual BIG EAST Transition Game program over the weekend. The two-day event was held in Midtown Manhattan.

More than 30 student-athletes from across the conference's 10 member schools enjoyed an interactive educational and professional development weekend, which included Q&A sessions with such industry leaders as Doris Burke, the New York Liberty's Sugar Rodgers, the New York Knicks' Kristin Bernert, human resources specialist Cheryl Gelzer Alexis, JD, and BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman.

"I hope this weekend inspired our student-athletes to start taking ownership and being engaged in their future," said Tracy Ellis-Ward, BIG EAST Associate Commissioner for Women's Basketball. "Sometimes when you're a student-athlete you become so engrossed with the day-to-day of going to class, taking exams, going to practice and traveling to games that you don't really start thinking about life after basketball. This was a weekend for them to pause and reflect on what life might be like when their collegiate careers are over."

On Saturday, in addition to Ackerman, Bernert, former Providence standout Burke and Georgetown star Rodgers, student-athletes heard from former Chief of Basketball Operations & Player Relations for the WNBA Renee Brown, former DePaul standout and current Brooklyn Nets analyst for the YES Network Sarah Kustok, New York Liberty Associate Head Coach Katie Smith and recent Villanova graduate Emily Leer. Following a self-assessment exercise to identify each individual's personal strengths, the group traveled downtown to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum before enjoying dinner at an iconic New York City restaurant.

Sunday's sessions focused on elevator speeches, resume building and mock interviews, facilitated by Gelzer Alexis and Michael Sainte, BIG EAST Director of Compliance and Membership Services. Student-athletes took turns interviewing in front of the group, which then provided feedback on the mock session.

PLAYER QUOTES

Kindell Fincher, R-Junior, Guard
"The BIG EAST Transition Game was an amazing learning experience. I got information that will help me during and after my playing career and I'm excited to share it with my teammates."

Jada Byrd, Senior, Guard
"The two-day event overall was a great experience. It was awesome to be able to network with other players in the conference because usually when we see each other it is from a competitive approach. My favorite part of the conference was the first panel, which included Sugar Rodgers of the WNBA. Hearing her experiences and obstacles was very empowering and motivational. Having the opportunity to speak, listen, and learn from basketball legends was truly an educational experience and I am grateful for having this opportunity. This experience was very informative and was filled with great advice as well as answers to important questions. This experience has also enhanced my knowledge of how to move forward with my career with and without basketball."

GUEST SPEAKERS

Doris Burke, Providence College Alum, ESPN/ABC Analyst
"As a kid I would have loved the opportunity to meet professional women who had some sort of experience in the sports landscape, so hopefully looking out at those faces and remembering what I felt like as a 20-, 21-year old trying to think about what's next in my life, hopefully some of the information we shared will help them somewhere down the road.

"You know what's interesting to me about Val Ackerman is, for so many of us who know her, how powerful an influence she's been on our individual lives but more importantly our professional lives. Val has held positions that are significant roles in terms of leadership and being out in the forefront of athletic issues, so whether she was the President of the WNBA or now the Commissioner of a major conference, I think what she shows to younger women is anything's possible and women deserve a seat at the table and Val has been the person sitting there waiting for the rest of us to catch up to her."

Sarah Kustok, DePaul Alum, YES Network
"For me, this is a can't-miss event. I think about the time when I was a student-athlete and what it was like towards the end of my playing career, when I was trying to figure what is the next step. This is such an incredible resource for so many of these BIG EAST student-athletes to hear from a variety of different professionals in all different fields and what they do, hear about how that job works, what were their steps to getting where they are at, why they love what they do, and also just advice for life, for life after basketball. I think it's so important to give back – I think about all the people who helped me throughout my career and to me, this is one of the most important things that you can do.

"We heard Sugar Rodgers talk about the things she needed to do and the one word she brought up was networking. I think that's something you don't always think about when you're playing with your team, and you're used to being around your team. Whether it's other student-athletes from other schools, did you get to talk to and get to know more, whether it's from those around the BIG EAST, other professionals who can help you in your later years. It's just so important to start to understand the importance of networking because that's what we like to think we are, the BIG EAST is a family and as a family we're all here to help one another. When you start to have and build relationships with people who may be able to give you a hand down the line, that's what's awesome to me about the BIG EAST and the opportunity to do this for a weekend."

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