Grant Attends NCAA Inclusion Forum as Participant and Panelist

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University women's track and field student-athlete Tenley Grant (Jr., Longview, WA/Kelso HS) attended the 2024 NCAA Inclusion Forum in Indianapolis, Indiana, from April 24-26 as a participant and a panelist. The four-day event provided significant programming organized and led by the NCAA office of inclusion. Hosted annually, the NCAA Inclusion Forum brings together leaders within higher education and intercollegiate athletics to provide education and enhance efforts on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging initiatives. The programming was focused on five core areas:  disability, LGBTQ identities, race/ethnicity, women and international student matters. Over 600 coaches, administrators, and student-athletes participated in this year's Inclusion Forum.

"I was involved with the 'Unpacking the Allyship' panel and served on the 'Moments to Movements: Student-Athletes Leading the Way' panel," Grant said. "In the first panel, I talked about allyship in the context of athletics and how it is important. I talked about how allyship is about finding those who support you and uplift you. When you enter a room, they pull up the seat next to you to let you speak. I talked about how the allies in my life have used leadership roles to stand in a room to make a path for me. As student-athletes, the importance of finding our accomplices, the people who will support you and be a part of your journey, is so important. Understanding the power that we have in our voices and actions also is important.

"Another question that I was asked while on the panel was how can athletes and coaches bring others along with them in their journey?," Grant commented. "I explained that the thing that is so important is having an open door and the willingness to listen and support through action. Being able to build real relationships with the people that have helped me through my journey is why I have been able to do the things I have done.

"When I was on the Student-Athletes Leading the Way panel, I expanded on how important it is for students to connect with people and to build relationships with people who will be building blocks for them," Grant noted. "Being able to social network and connect is the easy part, but building those connections is what makes the difference for your journey. I talked about how as athletics we have such big voices and when we come together our voices become louder. To make change takes time, but we can't let hopelessness stop us from working on creating more change. If we lay down the foundation and help people who come after us, our work will continue."

As part of the Inclusion Forum, several keynote speakers participated, including Dawn Staley, who coached South Carolina's women's basketball team to the 2023-24 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship, and LZ Granderson, op-ed columnist at the Los Angeles Times and ABC News contributor. Staley spoke to attendees about how to advance equity on campus and in the media. Granderson spoke about the unifying power of sports. Also speaking to the student-athletes was Keith Harrison, professor of business, hip-hop and sport at the University of Central Florida, who talked about the intersection of hip-hop music and athletics.

"People should attend the Inclusion Forum to make connections," Grant said. "As student-athletes, we hold so much power together as a unit. Meeting people that are still on their journey just like you are … you're growing together. We're the next generation."

Grant discussed what it was like being a panelist rather than sitting in the audience. "It was a very amazing opportunity to be able to sit on the panel with such amazing people like Micheal Crook (University of Houston director of the Center for Student Athletics and Community), Clyde Doughty (Bowie State University vice president for intercollegiate athletics and recreation), JP Abercrumbie (University of Notre Dame executive associate athletics director for Culture and engagement, and Yuxuan Wang (Boston College assistant learning specialist). Being able to work and learn from these people was such an amazing opportunity. I learned a lot of what allyship looks like in so many different ways.

This year's Inclusion Forum featured a new initiative, the Student-Athlete Symposium, which provided student-athletes with individualized educational programming to help them actively participate and contribute to inclusion activities on their teams, in athletics departments, on campuses, and in their communities. Symposium speakers included Mike Avery, head coach of Fort Wayne FC and former college soccer coach and student-athlete, and Alex Sommer, academic counselor and senior engagement coordinator at Ohio State. The final session of the forum featured a panel discussion where student-athletes shared their experiences after attending the Student-Athlete Symposium.

"Being part of the student-athlete symposium, I was able to connect with other athletes doing the same work or doing stuff completely different," Grant said. "It was so amazing to be able to connect with those people and to hear how they are thinking outside of the box."

Serving as both a panelist and as a student-athlete attending the Inclusion Forum provided Grant with multiple ways to look at specific sessions and the overall event. She was able to help lead the conversation and also listen and learn from others.

"One of my big takeaways from the forum was more of an understanding that what I am doing is going in the right direction. That all of the work and connections I have made is going to help build a foundation for myself," Grant commented. "Also, I was able to reflect on how I can be doing more and understanding that I have the power to start conversations. I learned that progress comes with having uncomfortable conversations and know when to have those conversations."

Grant returned to Willamette following the Inclusion Forum. She looks forward to putting what she learned to work as one of the co-presidents on the 2024-25 Willamette Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. It will be Grant's second year on the SAAC Board after serving as the at-large representative during the 2023-24 academic year.

"Attending the Inclusion Forum made me motivated to continue the work that I am doing at Willamette," Grant noted. "It also let me know that I can do more to work on making athletics more diverse and inclusive for so many people. I can't wait to get started."

NOTE:  Some information and one quote was provided by the NCAA.