Allison Walker '08 competes in the hammer throw at the 2007 NCAC Outdoor Championship meet.

Springfield, Ohio — Wittenberg University women's track and field standout Allison Walker, class of 2008 from Columbus, Ohio, did more than just hang out with Mickey, Minnie and friends at Walt Disney World last week. She gained new perspectives on her life as a student-athlete at a leadership conference.

Walker attended the 11th annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Foundation Leadership Conference May 27-31 at the Coronado Springs Resort and Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. It is the sixth straight year that Wittenberg has been represented at the conference, which draws more than 350 NCAA student-athletes each year from across the country.

"The conference was a blast," Walker said. "It was very rewarding, and I learned a lot of interesting information. It was a great way to make new friends, as well as learn about others and yourself."

Walker is a three-year letterwinner in track and field, and she has multiple All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) designations to her credit in throwing events. Her specialty is the hammer throw, and she is the indoor and outdoor school record-holder in the event.

The conference included student-athletes like Walker from NCAA Division I, II and III schools who have been identified as current or future leaders on their campuses and in their communities and offered them fresh ways of thinking about leadership. The conference is annually billed as one of the largest non-competitive gatherings of NCAA student-athletes, and it has been designed to enhance leadership and communication skills.

Walker said she learned about herself and how to relate to others. The conference includes sessions on leadership types and how to adapt to various personalities, which is invaluable for student-athletes involved in collegiate teams.

During the conference, participants discussed such topics as sportsmanship, public perceptions of student-athletes, conflict resolution, student-athlete mental health and social responsibilities. They discussed division-specific issues and potential career direction, and the student-athletes also participated in team-building initiative games at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.

A total of 43 coaches, athletics administrators and program facilitators joined the student-athletes at the conference, as Wittenberg Director of Athletics and Recreation Garnett Purnell did when he made a presentation at the 2003 event. Representatives of each division's national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), which provides feedback to NCAA committees and councils regarding student-athlete issues, led discussion sessions and group activities during the conference.

"My favorite part of the conference was Wednesday. We participated in many trust games, as well as other team-building exercises," Walker said. "It was fun, and also very easy to see how all the leadership roles could be applied."

Walker, who was selected for the conference from a pool of more than 1,300 nominations, is the sixth Wittenberg student-athlete to attend the event. Mark Trempe, a 2003 graduate and a former all-conference track and field performer, represented Wittenberg at the 2002 conference; Kyle Dunaway, a 2004 graduate and an all-conference swimmer, represented Wittenberg in 2003; Raymar Hampshire, a 2005 graduate and an all-conference football player, made the trip in 2004; Meghan O'Rourke, class of 2008 and the starting goaltender on the women's soccer team, was in Florida for the 2005 conference; and Ryan Hamilton, class of 2008 and a member of the men's swimming and diving team, attended the 2006 conference.