Jaidyn Curry Attends 2024 NCAA Inclusion Forum

HANOVER, N.H – The twelfth annual gathering of the NCAA Inclusion Forum was held in Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 24-26. Attendees learned about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion. The educational programming focused on the Office of Inclusion's five core areas: disability, LGBTQ, race/ethnicity, women and international inclusion. Welcoming more than 600 member administrators, coaches and student-athletes, representing the Big Green was women's soccer student-athlete, Jaidyn Curry.

A native of Lorton, Virginia, Curry is a sophomore forward and serves as a campus liaison for the Dartmouth Black Student-Athlete Alliance (DBSAA). Intrigued and knowing that the forum would be a great learning experience, Curry was excited to attend the forum this year.

"I wanted to make the most out of my student-athlete experience," said Curry.

Leaving campus at three in the morning, Curry started her journey to an insightful, educational, and unforgettable experience. Starting her first session a couple hours after arriving in Indianapolis, Curry said, "the DEI staff brought amazing energy and pumped everyone up for the upcoming events."

Some of her favorite speakers included Dawn Staley, the Head Women's Basketball Coach at South Carolina and Dr. C. Keith Harrison, Professor of Business/Hip Hop/Sport at the University of Central Florida.
Staley touched on the importance of the mindset of student-athletes and women in sports and the challenges women face. Staley also discussed how athletes like Caitlin Clark and others like her are bringing more attention to women's sports.

"It was inspirational to hear from her," said Curry. "One of my favorite things she (Dawn Staley) said was 'We have to be able to have uncomfortable conversations and act on them or we can't expect change.'
Music being one of Curry's favorite hobbies, keynote speaker Dr. Harrison presented an insightful and unique educational experience called DEI Beat Turn Tables and the intersection of hip-hop and sports. Dr. Harrison discussed how people's culture prevails in athletic performance whether we realize it or not. Different backgrounds and cultures can influence what type of music teams listen to before games and the different traditions each team has that reflect their culture. Dr. Harrison taught that culture is reflected in different ways at other schools. Every team's goal is athletic success, but everyone does it in different ways and that process shows where we're from and what we're surrounded by.

This year, the program was highlighted by the student-athlete symposium. The symposium provided educational programming for student-athletes to collaborate, empower and engage with each other to discuss DEI initiatives at their institutions. Curry learned many things and wanted to share something with the rest of her Big Green peers. She learned that by giving people the ability to be who they want to be, we must provide them with the space to present themselves as who they truly are, not what the environment is telling them to be. This way, people can stay true to themselves and their beliefs. Curry also expressed that she believes that Dartmouth allows for this space and for student-athletes to be their true authentic selves. She feels grateful that she feels supported at Dartmouth.

"Amplifying the student-athlete voice and highlighting their experience was an intentional goal of the inaugural Student-Athlete Symposium at the 2024 NCAA Inclusion Forum," said NCAA senior vice president of Inclusion, Education and Community Engagement Felicia Martin. "We wanted the 120 student athletes--like Jaidyn who participated in the first ever cohort--to share, to learn and then to take that information back to their teams, their athletic departments and their university campuses. Our student leaders were impressive and thoughtful about how to take what they learned to create, maintain, and evolve inclusive environments. Whether Jaidyn is aspiring to work in sport or some other industry, we hope the Inclusion Forum and the Student-Athlete Symposium gave her new tools, an additional community of support and helpful resources to advance cultures of belonging."

In three words, Curry described her experience as insightful, exciting and fun.

"Insightful: because I got to view sports in a way that is not typically viewed in. Listening to the breakdowns of what the keynote speakers touched on. The mindset, discussing and highlighting off-the-field obstacles allowed me to look at everything and realize everything student-athletes can do."

"Exciting: for multiple reasons. It was cool to go, and I hope everyone gets to experience it one day. I got to meet so many cool people. There's a group chat, and we still talk in it and see what everyone is up to. We are excited for the future of athletics because there are so many young people that want to create change and want to better things for the generation that comes after us. I'm excited to see where things go."

"Fun: it was a good experience, and I had so much fun, and I would totally go back. At first, I was a little nervous going into it but once I got there, met some people, and settled in, I was glad to be a part of it."

Reflecting on her experience, Curry said that being able to go to the forum reaffirmed that Dartmouth is making strides in the right direction. The conversations about DEI are already happening here and we're implementing it in DBSAA and on our teams across athletics.

To learn more about the NCAA Inclusion forum, click here.

Gallery: (5-17-2024) Jaidyn Curry at 2024 Inclusion Forum

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