Five individuals from Shippensburg University attended the 2025 NCAA Impact Forum on Nov. 10-12 in Indianapolis.
 
SU was represented by volleyball student-athlete Natalya Montague, men's basketball student-athlete Denzel Figueroa, graduate assistant Lainie Putt, associate director of sports medicine Miranda Fisher, and assistant director of sports medicine Jasmin Lalin.
 
Figueroa participated as a panelist during the forum.
 
Per the NCAA, the Impact Forum brings together leaders within higher education and intercollegiate athletics, including student-athletes, for transformational programming. This professional development experience offers educational and engaging sessions centered around creating cultures of belonging and well-being.
 
Participants gained practical information and tools related to community building and other learning strategies that they can take back to campus. Attendees engaged in sessions and dialogue focused on enhancing efforts to support all student-athletes and their unique experiences on campus.
 
Participant statements:
 
Natalya Montague
 
The 2025 NCAA Impact Forum was an immersive experience highlighting the wide array of situations and feelings that we all experience as student-athletes, administrators and humans. The forum consisted of multiple speakers who spoke about several themes such as the importance of intentionality in relationships and the process of finding your identity beyond college athletics. The forum consisted of a student-athlete experience where we were immersed with other student-athletes and given the opportunity to seek out community and build a network. Additionally, during the Division II Enhanced Program, we were able to curate and refine an action plan to enhance the overall well-being of student-athletes on our campus. We were provided valuable feedback on our ideas, allowing us to be confident in our plan, which involves enhancing the identity of student-athletes.
 
On a personal level, I feel that the NCAA Impact Forum provided me with perspectives and insights that I never saw before. I feel that it taught me so much about myself and others. The most impactful moment for me during the forum was the talk by Dwight White II. His personal testimony showed me that regardless of your sport or your division, there is a common struggle amongst student-athletes, and that is identity crisis. It put into words what I've felt and struggled with silently and made me feel empowered to help other student athletes who struggle with the same thing. Additionally, the diverse pool of student-athletes that I was able to meet was truly amazing. Being able to find community in other athletes from so many different places was an experience that I will never forget. 
 
Denzel Figueroa
 
The NCAA Impact Forum is probably something I'll never forget. Being a part of the Division II Enhanced Program, our mission was to develop an action plan to enhance cultures of belonging and well-being within our campus. Seeing how different schools had the same problems and had goals made this an even better experience as we didn't feel alone. For me, a moment that stuck out the most was hearing from Dwight White II – a former Division I football player at Northwestern who transitioned from a high-level athlete thinking of becoming a pro to becoming a top artist. He mentioned that "silence can be special as it contributes to the story that is still becoming," Understanding who you are after sports can be a long journey and we can view the silence as something detrimental when in reality it can be the start of big things.
 
Being a part of the student panel the last day was a great experience. Being the only Division II athlete speaker made it more memorable. Addressing inclusion on our campuses, being authentic, as well as the impact we have on our communities; it was an honor being there representing my family, friends, my community, and my teammates. This is something I'll always look back at talking in front of the NCAA and sharing my story to everyone.
 
Lainie Putt
 
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to attend the NCAA Impact Forum. It was an inspiring space to collaborate with other universities, build meaningful connections, and deepen our collective understanding of how to best support the mental health and well-being of student-athletes. Experiences like this reinforce my hope for the future of mental health in collegiate athletics and strengthen my commitment to advancing high-quality psychoeducation and support services on campus. I'm excited to further develop the project we have worked on and carry its impact forward.
 
Miranda Fisher
 
I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have been selected by the conference office and NCAA to take a team of five members including two student-athletes to participate in the Division II enhanced attendance workshop in addition to the 2025 Impact Forum. The DII enhanced attendance workshop took the team through a campus needs assessment and developed an action plan to bring back to campus for Athletics. The OneSHIP Student Athlete group will assist in bringing the action plan to life for the spring semester.
 
In addition to the workshop and the amazing sessions, I am especially proud that Denzel was nominated and selected to speak on a student-athlete panel to conclude the forum. Denzel has been an active member of OneSHIP since he joined as a freshman so to see him develop into a confident leader during his time on the leadership council the last three years has been amazing to witness. He took his leadership to the panel and spoke his truth about his experience as a student-athlete and leader on campus and in his community. He also built relationships with the other student-athletes and leaders from the NCAA while preparing for the panel the last few weeks. 
 
Jasmin Lalin
 
Attending the 2025 NCAA Impact Forum was an exciting experience. Having the opportunity to be in rooms consisting of administration and student-athletes from all over the nation that are still in the fight to have diversity, equity and inclusion in the forefront was refreshing. I enjoyed learning from other administrators as well as the presenters on how to best lead and have tough conversations with colleagues but also bring your concerns to the table in ways that allow for collaborative effort. Seeing our student-athletes show enthusiasm for developing our project that we would be bringing back and implementing with our student-athletes truly filled my cup. It was a great developmental experience.