San José, Calif. - San José State's Tobruk Blaine and Annalisa Duarte have been selected to participate in a year-long NCAA Leadership Academy Workshop, beginning virtually next week.
SJSU is one of just 18 institutions chosen to participate in the workshop with Blaine and Duarte making up two of the 36 individuals enrolled in the academy.
"It is an honor and a privilege to be selected to participate in the NCAA Leadership Academy Workshop (LAW)," says Blaine. "I strive to create and implement a well-rounded and robust student-athlete development program at San José State and a foundational component of that is leadership, development and opportunity. The LAW offers an opportunity to build a sustainable, student-athlete centered approach to educating, engaging and empowering future leaders as they discover themselves beyond their sport.
Blaine joined the Spartans in 2017 as the football program's first Beyond Football Coordinator, helping enrich the lives of football student-athletes through the Beyond Football program. She has also been instrumental in the implementation of the university's Beyond Sparta program, encompassing all of the department's athletic programs with additional support and development opportunities.
Duarte arrived in San José in 2019 as the school's Academic Support Coordinator and SAAC Advisor and will also be working directly with Blaine in the roll-out of Beyond Sparta.
"I am excited and honored to be selected to participate in the NCAA Leadership Academy Workshop," Duarte says. "I believe Tobruk and I will be able to learn so much from this opportunity and we can't wait to incorporate what we learn into the Beyond Sparta program. Our participation in LAW will go on to benefit Beyond Sparta and all of our student-athletes."
The Leadership Academy Workshop will start with the Foundations module, equipping participants with key building blocks to help create a sustainable academy. Each module will span four weeks and participants will engage in weekly meetings to discuss the curriculum.
The workshop figures to thrive on connection through feedback-oriented learning and peer-to-peer support. Attendees will be able to enhance the future student-athlete experience through the vision and guidance taken from the course.
"We are honored and proud that Tobruk and Annalisa were chosen for the NCAA Leadership Academy," says Eileen Daley, the Deputy Director of Internal Operations/SWA at San José State. "They are two extremely talented Spartans and our student-athletes are exceptionally lucky to have their direction in our Beyond Sparta 'roll-out.' Their involvement in this academy will provide a structured model to promote sustainable programming, which will be transformative in the heart of the Silicon Valley. Beyond Sparta will be life changing for our student-athlete population here at SJSU."
The academy coursework is scheduled to begin on October 19.
The 18 institutions selected to participate in this impactful virtual offering include:
American International College, Stephanie Jarosik & Thomas Pool
Bates College, Jessica Duff & Joe Vari
Bethune-Cookman University, Kayla Lee & Ryan Griffin
Franklin & Marshall College, Brad Brubaker & Kirsten Richter
King's College, Jessica Huda & Megan Mundy
Morgan State University, Chad Allen & Kimberly Ross-Watkins
Pepperdine University, Erin Carroll & James Gehrels
Providence College, Jennifer Cunningham & Nick Sailor
Rutgers University, Jackie Kelly & Marc Dauphin
Saint Michael's College, Madelena DeThomasis & Meggan Dulude
San José State University, Annalisa Duarte & Tobruk Blaine
Savannah State University, Daijah Freeman & Marissa Campbell
University of Kansas, Benjamin Wilson & George Midgett
University of Massachusetts- Amherst, Amanda Ekabutr & Elizabeth Smith Hamlet
Wabash College, Ayanna Tweedy & Samantha Current
Washington State University, Derrick Mitchell & Shelby McKay
West Chester University, Kellianne Milliner & Madlyn Evans
Willamette University, Annie Longtain & Leslie Shevlin