HAMILTON, N.Y. (1/28/10) – Colgate University women's soccer student-athlete Calista Victor '11, and men's soccer student-athlete Steven Miller '11, attended the 2010 United States Naval Academy Leadership Conference in Annapolis, Md., on January 24-27.

Both Victor and Miller were chosen by Director of Athletics David Roach and the athletic department to represent Colgate. The topic covered at this year's event was “Leadership under Stress: Transforming Crises into Opportunities.” 

The conference provided a unique opportunity for military and civilian undergraduate students of leadership to interact with their peers and exchange ideas, experiences, and methodologies on leadership. The conference also provided participants valuable insights from participating business leaders, scholars, government officials and military flag and general officers.

Some of the important questions and issues addressed at this year's conference were focused on how to turn a crisis into an opportunity?  How to resolve ethical dilemmas as they occur? What leadership skills can be developed that will be most useful in a crisis? How do you interact with the media? While each situation is different, is it possible to train for crisis situations? 

Both Victor and Miller had the opportunity to learn from military, business, diplomatic, and community leaders who have successfully overcome obstacles and transformed crises into extraordinary opportunities. They took part in interactive sessions that challenged them to practice what they have learned and apply those lessons to their futures, while also having the opportunity to attend a lecture from Tom Brockaw, NBC News Special Correspondent. 

Each year, nearly 250 military and civilian students and faculty advisors from more than 30 colleges and universities attend the conference. The unique mix of military and civilian schools facilitates the conference objective to encourage substantive interaction between undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds who share a passion for leadership.