ELIZABETH CITY, NC- The CIAA, Excellence Girls’ Club Inc., CIAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and the Elizabeth City State University athletic department teamed up to host a leadership institute for middle schools and high school girls last week on the campus of ECSU.

The Excellence Girls’ Club is an empowerment and leadership organization that focuses on personal growth, community involvement, leadership, and caters to middle and high school

CIAA SAAC members (L-R) Heather Smith, Christen Pelton & Allie Kolezynski

aged females with untapped leadership potential.

Over the course of a two day period, members of the Excellence Girls’ Club were exposed to college life on the ECSU campus, and had the opportunity to hear from a variety of speakers.  Topics discussed ranged from personal branding, leadership styles, the Step-Up behavior intervention program, to verbal/nonverbal communication skills.  The presenters included various members of the ECSU athletic department staff, CIAA staff, and CIAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members.

Dr. Angelia Nelson, Department Chair and Assistant Athletic Director at ECSU stated: “It was truly a pleasure to host the CIAA and Excellence Girls’ Club Leadership Institute on the campus of Elizabeth City State University.  We were indeed thrilled to have the young women on our campus and made every effort to ensure that they walked away more knowledgeable, confident, and equipped to become 21st century leaders.  The Institute would not have been possible without the support of Chancellor Gilchrist and the rest of the Viking family.  We look forward to working with the CIAA on future initiatives.”

The Leadership Institute also included three student-athletes and SAAC members from the CIAA: Allie Kolezynski, Christen Pelton, and Heather Smith.  After reflecting on her experience at the Leadership Institute, Christen Pelton, SAAC President at ECSU commented: “The opportunity to work with the Excellence Girls’ Club was one to remember.  Speaking to a few of the girls one-on-one gave me insight as to how impactful and purposeful the leadership sessions really were.”

The Leadership Institute was a great opportunity for the young women of the Excellence Girls’ Club to experience life for a few days on a college campus, while connecting with mentors and leaders from ECSU and the CIAA.

A full list of presenters from the Excellence Girls’ Club and CIAA Leadership Institute is listed below:

Valerie Griffin Andrews: Principal at WG Pearson Middle School
Linda Bell: Assistant Athletic Director/Compliance at ECSU
Allie Kolezynski: Assistant Director of Athletic Communications/Head Cross Country Coach at Chowan University/Vice Chair of DII NCAA Student Athlete Advisory Committee
Vickie Madison: Founder and Executive Director of Excellence Girls’ Club Inc.
Dr. Angelia Nelson: Department Chair/Assistant Professor/Assistant Athletic Director at ECSU
Christen Pelton: President of the Student-Athlete Advisory at ECSU
Heather Smith: Miss CIAA
Monique AJ Smith: Associate Commissioner for Governance/Senior Woman Administrator of the CIAA
Dr. Monette Williams: Director of Enrollment Management at ECSU