Find your voice with the MIAA SAC!

My name is Karlie Guimond, I am senior year at Smith Academy, and this will be my second year serving as a member of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association Student Advisory Committee (MIAA SAC). Last summer, I attended the New England Student Leadership Conference at Worcester. Following the conference, I was told that I should apply to be a member of SAC. I didn’t know much about SAC and what they did for the MIAA, but I knew I did not want my work in athletics to stop after NESLC. So I applied, went through an interview process, and ultimately was selected to be a member of the 2018-19 committee. The MIAA SAC serves as the voices of student athletes for the MIAA; we are a committee composed of 20 students (this year 18) and we facilitate discussions at MIAA events, complete community service projects, and discuss ways we can better the future of high school athletics in Massachusetts. I am the first Smith Academy student to serve as a member on this committee, and it’s the best activity I have had the honor to be a part of high school. It is a privilege to hear about other schools and their ideas, so I can return to Smith Academy with an open mind and new thoughts on how to better our school. Every year the committee designs a “footprint”, or a legacy/project they’d like to be remembered by. Last year’s committee decided to design youth clinics within our towns/school districts. Myself and Judy Strong, Hatfield native and former Olympian in field hockey designed youth clinics that were hosted at Smith College and will be continued this fall. An article about the clinics was even featured on USA Field Hockey’s website! It was such an amazing footprint that I had so much success with back in Hatfield.

Another rewarding experience I had with SAC was this summer when I was selected to represent Smith Academy and Massachusetts at the National Student Leadership Summit in Indianapolis. At NSLS I met student leaders from all across the country (and Canada!), worked with Special Olympians at a local high school in Indiana, heard fantastic keynote speakers, and overall learned so much just from being around some of the brightest leaders in the US and Canada. I not only became a better leader for Smith Academy but also with the MIAA SAC. I will never forget my trip to Indianapolis, it changed my life!

I am thrilled to be serving again this year on SAC. Our first event is the Wellness Summit at the DoubleTree Hotel in Westborough, MA. I strongly encourage the freshman, sophomore, and juniors at SA to consider joining the MIAA ambassadors program and then to apply to be a member of SAC. I didn’t and I am a better leader, captain, student, athlete, and human because of it. The MIAA is a truly special organization that being apart is a life changing experience.Opportunities like this don’t come up in high school, and if you are interested in the MIAA, don’t let this opportunity pass you by.