HARTFORD CITY, Ind. - Over the weekend of Feb. 17-18, a group of IWU female student-athletes and athletic staff members traveled to Lake Placid Retreat Center in Hartford City, Ind. for the inaugural L.E.A.D. Retreat Weekend.

13 female student-athletes attended this event led by Associate Athletic Director Hannah Miller and assisted by Women's Soccer coach Mary Seiffert and Athletic Trainer Lindsey Krippel.

"It kind of started with a growing desire for me to have opportunities to work with our female student athletes and just empower them and encourage them. The idea came to be about three years ago," Miller said.

This retreat was made possible by a series of gifts made in Sue Bowman's memory as well as from her directly. Bowman was a former IWU coach and female student-athlete advocate who passed away in March 2021.

"When Coach Bowman passed away, she had designated that her memorial contributions be directed towards women's athletics here. She was such a pioneer for women's teams throughout her time here," Miller said. "A fund [started] specifically geared for women's leadership and initiative around that."

Instead of this donation being divided up among athletic teams here on campus, it was given a purpose, and this was when Miller could see her dream of a female leadership and empowerment event come to life.

"A whole new generation of students that she's never met and will never meet can have a sense of connection with the history of our department, especially with such a well-known and respected female leader in this department," Miller said.

IWU Women's Soccer sophomore Macy Browning attended this event as she has always seen herself as a leader but learned more about leadership qualities that she can bring back to her team.

"I think one thing that I would take back is that anyone can be a leader, if you're just willing to do the right thing and stand up for what's right. You don't have to be the best player on the field or the loudest one of the team. There's still ways that you can lead your team," Browning said.

IWU Women's Swim and Dive member Makenna Beall was originally confused as to why she was invited by her coach to attend this retreat being just a freshman, but she continued to gain knowledge about the true meaning of leadership.

"Leadership isn't about the title. It's about the impact that each person has on a team because each person brings a unique equality and unique talents to a team, and so everybody has a role of leadership on a team," Beall said. "We learned a lot about things that we can take back to our teams. But I think just the idea that everybody has a role. You don't have to be an upperclassman to be a leader. Everybody has value on a team. Everybody's working together to complete a goal."

Miller sees this event as something that will only continue to grow as time goes on. She wants this to become something that empowers athletes on IWU's campus for many years to come.

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Story written by: Abby Harvey, The Sojourn







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