Rocky Point Student Selected To State Leadership Committee

Press release from the Rocky Point School District:

April 13, 2023

Rocky Point High School junior Avery Ward was selected to represent Section XI at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Student Leadership Conference in Albany.

Avery, who is on the varsity cheer team, attended the event on March 30 with nearly 170 student-athletes from member schools across the state in the first formal leadership gathering. The daylong conference hosted two speakers, Missy West, a NYSPHSAA Hall of Famer and co-founder of ORCA Leadership, and Stephanie Marquesano, founder and president of the harris project. Other presentations were on college and career readiness and nutrition as well as workshops and discussions on leadership and the NCAA’s Name, Image and Likeness, a term used to identify factors that make student-athletes unique.

Avery completed an online survey that was shared with section athletic directors, who then determined its representatives using the survey. The program and conference have been in development for several years, stemming from feedback from the NYSPHSAA Student-Athlete Development Committee and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

“This was such an exciting opportunity for Avery to hone her leadership skills and benefit from in-person training and development,” Rocky Point School District Athletic Director Jonathon Rufa said. “We look forward to her sharing information with her peers, teammates, athletic department and school.”

This press release was produced by the Rocky Point School District. The views expressed here are the author's own.