April 14, 2012

NORMAN, Okla. -- Three University of Oklahoma student-athletes have been selected to participate in the 2012 NCAA Career in Sports Forum, held June 7-10 in Indianapolis, Ind.

Junior Michelle Gascoigne (softball), senior Annie Martin (women’s track and field) and junior Taylor Schmidt (women’s golf) were among 300 selected from an applicant pool of more than 650 by the NCAA Student-Athlete Affairs Committee. Student-athletes are selected from across the country and from all three NCAA divisions.

“All three have served as SAAC officers this past year and will undoubtedly represent the University of Oklahoma very well,” Dr. Nicki Moore, OU’s Senior Associate Athletics Director for Academics and Student Life and Senior Woman Administrator, said. “They have brilliant futures ahead of them as administrators and coaches and will have a great opportunity to learn from the finest leaders in the college athletics.”

The NCAA Career in Sports Forum is a four-day event through which selected student-athletes explore and are educated on careers in sports, with a primary focus on intercollegiate athletics. The Forum provides an extension of that educational goal by coaching student-athletes on how to become the industry’s next generation of leaders.

The participants are given an educational opportunity to learn and gain valuable exposure to careers in sports, specifically in the areas of coaching, administration and sports entertainment.  A range of seminars discuss key issues coaches and administrators face, examine the participants’ personality traits and how they can help or hinder their paths to success, and introduce them to networking and communication skills that are essential to breaking into and navigating the athletics world.

Additionally, the Forum dispels myths about careers in athletics, as well as facilitates the opportunity to obtain information from current and future athletics professionals.