2025 Big Life Series: Selma To Montgomery
Maryland staff and student-athletes share their perspectives on a heartrending yet impactful weekend.
Zoya Church, umterps.com Contributing Writer
7/23/2025
Over 150 student-athletes, coaches, and administrators embarked on the Big Ten Conference’s fourth-straight “Big Life Series: Selma to Montgomery” trip.
From July 18 to 20, attendees had the opportunity to travel to Alabama and learn more about the Civil Rights Movement. They participated in several activities, including a visit to the museum, a recreation of the 1965 Bloody Sunday march, and a community service project aimed at assisting local youth in Selma, Alabama.
The conference launched the Big Life Series to encourage student-athletes to take on leadership roles in their communities. It has since become a yearly event that serves as an educational opportunity for everyone involved.
Attendees from the University of Maryland included director of basketball operations Ryland Adkins, associate director of student-athlete development Sydney Anderson, Neeo Avery (football), Fiona Carter (women’s track and field), Dillan Fontus (football), Jalen Huskey (football), Ava McKennie (women’s basketball), Myles Rice (men’s basketball) and Maya Valmon (women’s track and field).
Gallery: Big Life Series: Selma To Montgomery
Valmon, a graduate student on the Maryland women’s track and field team, aspires to pursue a career in medicine after college. She was inspired to attend this trip by a former teammate, and it furthered her motivation to become a leader in both the medical field and her community.
“I have always been interested in biology and health, but my desire to be a physician who addresses racial and gender-based disparities in healthcare originates from my passion for social justice,” she said. “I would be honored to participate in this trip to honor my ancestors and all the brave Black men and women who marched before me, and to feel more connected to my roots as I take the next steps in my education and career.”
After arriving on the first day, attendees visited several museums to immerse themselves in the history of the period. Museums included the Rosa Parks Museum, the Freedom Riders Museum, the Museum of Alabama, and the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park. In the evening, a kickoff reception was held at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, which was followed by dinner and evening programming.
“We heard stories throughout our trip from people who were alive and active during the Civil Rights Movement,” McKennie said. “Through their stories, I realized it has not been that long since we were truly at war for the freedoms of Black people.”
Day two began with breakfast and a trip to Selma. Once they arrived, they engaged in the Selma Service Project and Programming at the First Baptist Church. From there, a recreation of the march was conducted across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
The afternoon was filled with museum visits in Montgomery, with trips to the Alabama Department of Archives & History and the Civil Rights Memorial Center. The day concluded with dinner in EJI Annex, a tour of the Equal Justice Initiative Museum and a debrief.
“As we walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, you try to put yourself in what happened, but it’s impossible to truly feel what they had to go through to win their right to vote,” McKennie said. “But what you can feel is the strength and determination it took for them to even step on the bridge. I felt a massive wave of push almost to keep on speaking and doing what needs to be done against wrongdoings.”
