San Jose State University women's water polo player Sierra Painter's college athletics career easily covers a canvas filled with peaks and crevices from end-to-end, top-to-bottom.
Now in her sixth-year in the program through a variety of starts and stops, she has been affiliated with four Spartan teams in the last five years to be ranked in the top-20 nationally in the final coaches poll. Painter has a Player of the Week award from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), the #1 women's water polo conference in the country. She was named an alternate to Team USA for the 2019 World University Games. The San Jose State University graduate now enrolled in the kinesiology master's program and focusing on sport management has an array of national, conference and institutional academic awards that would cover a wall in her on-campus room.
As an undergrad, she also created time in her full schedule to serve on the San Jose State University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and was an executive board member during the 2018-19 year as the chairperson for the committee's events. The 2018 Sparta Wars competition she organized involving the department's 22 NCAA Division I athletics programs was among her favorites.
ONE OF 318 NCAA STUDENT-ATHLETES FROM ALL DIVISIONS PARTICIPATING
By the time she completes the 2021 NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar, February 3 through 5, Painter plans to add one more exceptional experience to her student-athlete and college career.
Each year, the NCAA hosts a three-day seminar designed for graduate assistants and interns to accelerate their careers in college athletics. The two-time San Jose State women's water polo team captain is one of 318 student-athletes from all three NCAA Divisions and the only Spartan invited to participate in this year's seminar which will be conducted virtually from NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, Ind.
"The way they are hosting (the seminar), it will still be great. I've made multiple connections on LinkedIn with individuals selected to participate, too. So, I think through technology, we are still able to connect and reach out," said the San Jose native who majored in communication studies.
HER THREE OBJECTIVES
"I want to develop as a leader. I'm looking forward to digging deep inside myself and developing my leadership skills. Two, I'm also excited for the career development aspect of the seminar – learning how to do a job search and how to network. And, three, there is a session on crucial conversations whether it's talking about systemic racism and/or social injustice that I am eager to engage in. I know it will be extremely relevant and valuable," Painter said.
Besides preparing for a 2021 women's water polo season this spring, anticipating the NCAA seminar, and taking classes, Painter is working as a graduate assistant in the recently launched Beyond Sparta which encourages SJSU student-athletes to become engaged on campus and in the community and prepare for a meaningful career after graduation. She learned about the opportunity to apply for the NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar through Beyond Sparta program leaders Tobruk Blaine and Annalisa Duarte.
"Once I read about the program, I knew it was something I definitely wanted to do. It was an opportunity to develop as an individual and a leader, which is important, not because I am captain of a team, but to become a better leader and a better person," said Painter, who spent the 2018 summer working for the San Jose Sharks National Hockey League franchise as an inside sales consultant.
"This is a cool opportunity to represent San Jose State Athletics, put on my suit, and be a Spartan... I'm excited to be myself, become a better version of myself and represent San Jose State in a new way."
When the 2021 NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar is complete, Painter may be touching up her canvas – pushing some of her San Jose State peaks closer together and filling in the crevices with experiences she hopes will be a foundation to last a lifetime.