2024 Gossett Fellows Capstone Presentations

The University of Maryland is committed to providing exceptional opportunities to its student-athletes to help prepare them for their postgraduate careers. The Gossett Fellows program is a groundbreaking approach that helps develop leadership, equity, social justice, professional development, service learning, and career management in student-athletes.

Ten seniors who participated in the program presented their strategic plan for the athletic program on April 30 at Glazer Auditorium. The seniors have participated in the program for the past two years, during which they have learned about personality assessments, mock interviews, financial literacy, inclusive excellence, and more. 

They talk about their experiences and how Maryland Athletics can continue enhancing the student-athlete experience in groups. The students interacted and engaged with one another and staff members while attending networking events.

Barry P. Gossett Director of Athletics Damon Evans expressed the program's goals before giving the floor to the presenters. "The hope is that the program puts you guys in a position to succeed," he said.

The presenters included Krista Varrichione, a women's soccer student-athlete, and Tayler Osterhout, a gymnastics student-athlete. Varrichione is a senior majoring in business information systems and finance.

During Varrichione's presentation, she and her group explained how the University of Maryland maximizes student-athlete experiences. Her team's goals for the future of the Gossett Fellows program were to improve student-athlete nutrition, mental health awareness, and NIL opportunities. 

The group first recognized that nutrition is vital to student-athletes performance in their respective sports. They proposed improving the current situation by expanding the university's partnership with Mighty Meals. They also suggested implementing the BAM program within athletic teams. BAM is a body appreciation movement aimed at improving the perception of the body and food. The group suggested that all men's and women's teams meet at least once a year to promote a positive relationship with food and their bodies.

Varrichione and her group recognized that mental health awareness is equally important to maintaining an athlete's physical health. They explained how Maryland has promoted mental health awareness through contact information for sports psychologists, therapy dogs, and green ribbons and bracelets. Additionally, student-athletes can create a supportive community through involvement in various programs like Gossett Fellows. 

With the rise of NIL, student-athletes want to capitalize on the opportunity to grow their brand and give back to the community. Varrichione and her group proposed integrating NIL with internships and community service by donating earnings to youth sports, nonprofits, and charities. They explained how this would enhance community engagement with NIL and help athletes practice empathy, social awareness, and leadership skills beyond what is learned in the Gossett Fellows program.

Varrichione explained how vital her experience in the Gossett Fellows program has been as a student-athlete at Maryland.

"Taking part in Gossett Fellows has been incredibly transformative," she said. "It has not only provided me with support and resources, but also a unique opportunity to create a professional network. Gossett Fellows has instilled in me professional growth, leadership and social responsibility, which are all important for success in a future career."

Osterhout is a senior kinesiology major. Her group highlighted the importance of inclusivity and excellence. Inclusive excellence embraces diversity and creates equitable opportunities for success and advancement. The group encouraged the audience to reflect on their identity critically and highlighted how privilege normalizes some identities and marginalizes others. Their goal was to bring awareness to inclusive excellence and ways to implement the ideology on athletic teams, in the classroom, and in everyday life.

Osterhout explained an experience she had through the Gossett Fellows program called the DISC assessment. She says the session had a lasting impact on her. 

"The DISC assessment is a behavioral self-assessment tool that measures personality traits to help understand other behaviors," she said. "As a cohort, we discussed the different types of personalities and how we can communicate and understand each other better. I took this workshop and brought it to my team retreat as a bonding activity. After learning more about my teammates, coaches and support staff, I am able to understand where they are coming from in certain situations."

The Gossett Fellows program exposes student-athletes to different ways of thinking and expands their interpersonal skills. The program staff includes many individuals who interact with student-athletes daily. Their goal is to improve and prepare student-athletes for postgraduate life. 

"This program not only informs student-athletes about various topics, including personal and professional development but also provides us with the opportunity to grow our network," Osterhout said. "I feel like it is so important as student-athletes to network with each other as we have all had some kind of shared experience or interest at the same university."

The Gossett Fellows program will continue to grow and assist athletes in impacting the world beyond their sport. Program Director Adaeze Alaeze is committed to ensuring every current and prospective athlete leaves the program with the skills they need to succeed. 

"It has been a pleasure to be able to work with this group this year," Alaeze said. "This is my first year leading Gossett Fellows in my new role as Program Director, and it has been so amazing to see how the students have grown throughout our sessions. As I am to teach and guide them towards career readiness, they have equally taught and guided me on best practices to enhance their student-athlete experience."