Alabama Athletics' and D.R.I.V.E. For Success' Annual Senior Transition Seminar
2/7/2017 12:37:00 PM | General
Alabama Athletics and its D.R.I.V.E. For Success program recently hosted the Crimson Tide's annual Senior Transition Seminar as part of Alabama's ongoing effort to prepare its seniors for the transition from student-athlete to the next chapter of their lives.
Jonathan Orr from Athlete Transition Services led the seminar. A former football player at Wisconsin, Orr played in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans. Like many student-athletes, Orr had a difficult time transitioning into the "real world" once he was done playing football.
"I struggled for over a year trying to find my identity outside of being a football player and also trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life when my career was over," Orr said. "I started noticing that former teammates of mine were going through the same thing, so I wanted figure out a way to help more athletes who might be going through something similar."
More than 50 senior student-athletes were in attendance and paid rapt attention to Orr's story and journey.
"It helped us be comfortable in an uncomfortable environment that we haven't really been in before," women's tennis Joanna Savva said.
Beyond sharing his story, Orr took those assembled through some exercises designed to help them prepare for their own transition. Orr helped prepare the student-athletes for the next "season" of their lives by having them focus on the transferrable skills, values and resources they already have and can take with them once they graduate.
The seminar also focused on understanding the challenges associated with the change and how to use the opportunities afforded to them as student-athletes to successfully transition from collegiate athletics to the world beyond.
"He really made us think about what skills we might have outside of our sports, because when we're asked what we're good at, we always default back to athletics, 'Oh I'm good at rowing,'" rower Abby Marks said. "He made us think about ourselves outside of our sport. He also had us write down our goals and one of mine was to continue to develop my hobbies outside of my sport, because I am more than just rowing."
The Senior Transition Seminar is the latest D.R.I.V.E. For Success program designed to help Crimson Tide student-athletes get the most out of their collegiate experience and excel to the best of their abilities as scholars, athletes and in the world beyond the classroom and the competitive arena.
