ST. LOUIS, MO -- Volleyball sophomore Nafeesa Connolly (Natick, Mass.) represented Simmons, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and NCAA Division III athletics today at the annual College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) convention in St. Louis, Missouri on a panel titled, "Serving Student-Athletes: Are we getting it right?"

She was joined by three student athletes from across Division I, II, and III and the NAIA on the first ever student-athlete panel at the convention. Three of the student-athletes are members of the NCAA's National Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and one is active in the NAIA Collegiate Leadership Program.

The panel aimed to uncover communication challenges from the student-athlete perspective as well as how the Sports Information positions can utilize student-athletes to further promote their sports successes. The student panel also met with the CoSIDA Board and attended various program offerings during the convention.

"Opportunities like this are once in a lifetime and to be a student-athlete studying communications/public relations, this particular one is truly a dream come true," Connolly said. "The NCAA SAAC has opened many doors for myself, such as this one, and fellow 'SAAC-ers' from each division and myself are honored to be a part of the rewarding experience," said Connolly.

Connolly is majoring in communications and public relations with a minor in business and is an active member of the Simmons chapter of SAAC.

Click here for the press release from CoSIDA