As we celebrate and honor March for Women's History Month, the world of women's athletics continues to grow tremendously while the coaching world follows close behind. The annual Snell-Shillingford Leadership Symposium acts as a way to influence and inspire more female athletes to pursue a career in athletics. This year's symposium took place on the Bryn Mawr College campus, with the Centennial Conference speakers Ashley Day-Gibbs, Dr. Ellen Staurowsky, Dr. Amy Wilson, Dr. Carla Coleman, Megan Weisheipl, and, of course, Jen Shillingford. 

    Overall, the Snell-Shillingford Leadership Symposium, initiated in 1999 by Jen Shillingford, Bryn Mawr College's athletic director at the time, aimed to inspire female undergraduates to pursue coaching careers. Representatives and coaches from various member schools gather for a weekend of sessions focused on empowering women curious about working in athletics after graduation. The symposium honors Eleanor Frost Snell, a prominent figure in Ursinus College's coaching and education, having served as head of the women's physical education department for four decades, and Jen Shillingford, her mentee and a respected coach and administrator of Bryn Mawr College. Eligibility for the symposium extends to any female undergraduate from the Centennial Conference institutions curious about coaching, athletic administration, communication, training, or leadership roles.

    This year, Bryn Mawr College's head basketball coach, Dr. Carla Coleman, was a primary speaker focusing on creating comprehensive coaching toolkits. She emphasized the importance of factors beyond X's and O's, such as accountability and a growth mindset, encapsulated in her "Got S.W.A.G." philosophy; "(Study-What's Your Why-Accountability-Growth Mindset)." Reflecting on the symposium's impact, Dr. Coleman highlighted its role in personal and professional growth, stressing the value of learning from participants and fellow presenters. The symposium's platform has provided a space for diverse perspectives, enriching discussions with various experiences from scholar-athletes across the Centennial Conference institutions. Coleman underscores the symposium's role in perpetuating a culture of continuous learning and growth in women's athletics and coaching, echoing the sentiment that "if you stop learning, you stop growing." 

    Head volleyball coach Hayley Kirby participated as a mentor from the Bryn Mawr athletics staff. Key sessions, including Dr. Ellen Staurowsky's journey through sports and Megan Weisheipl's discourse on positive self-talk, related deeply with Coach Kirby, offering beneficial insights into her coaching approach. The guidance influenced her to take "a moment before every practice or competition to be mindful, set goals for the practice, and really be intentional." Kirby emphasized the need for more women to pursue coaching and leadership roles, recognizing the symposium's role in fostering such aspirations, sharing how she "wants to help more women, and [her] athletes, find their place in coaching and leadership positions." As she looks ahead, feeling "pride and excitement to be a woman in coaching," she envisions a future where women's sports continue to flourish, fueled by mentorship, advocacy, and a shared commitment to empowerment.

    The symposium witnessed significant enthusiasm from scholar-athlete participants like Natasha Ring, a sophomore field hockey player for Bryn Mawr. Ring's motivation to attend stemmed from her passion for coaching youth field hockey and the influence of her teammate's positive experiences from past symposiums. Ring shared a new practice by "replacing times when I say 'I should do something' with 'I will do something.' Changing that mentality is definitely a work in progress, however, I think it will be very valuable." This advice stems from Megan Weisheipl, emphasizing the importance of proactive commitment. Dr. Ellen Staurowsky's presentation on gender disparities in college athletics also deeply impacted Ring, prompting her to ponder institutional differences within collegiate sports. Overall, Ring valued the opportunity to exchange ideas and establish connections with peers and professionals from other institutions, fostering collaboration and networking among other women in sports, signifying a continuous evolution for women in athletics.

    First-year Bryn Mawr swimmer Dalia Ibrahim gained many new understandings of the historical underpinnings of women's involvement in sports leadership. Ibrahim felt especially "empowered" by Dr. Amy Wilson from the NCAA, who shed light on the evolution of women's sports, addressing pivotal moments like the passage of Title IX. Megan Wisheipl's concept of  "saying 'I should do ?___' means that you are wrong no matter what timeline you're in, and that saying should means that you have slacked off/did wrong in the past, present, or future. Instead of using should, she said to say 'I will do ___,' 'I will do better…' holds you more accountable to your word." Sharing varying examples within sports, "the symposium brought and highlighted awareness to the challenges in women's athletics and coaching." Ibrahim shared, how "over time, there has been a lot of progress with women in sports'' and how the speakers made her realize the importance of "how necessary representation is." 

    As a senior at Swarthmore College, Bryn Mawr's Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator, Katie Tarr, attended the Snell-Shillingford Leadership Symposium in 2002. Participating in the symposium almost every year "continues to reinforce for [her] the importance of strong women leaders in sports—at any level." For Katie Tarr, Shillingford's impassioned address strengthens the importance of women's leadership in sports at all levels, stressing the impact of mentorship and empowerment within relationships. The symposium's role in expanding scholar-athletes knowledge, skills, and overall outlook on women's athletics allows Tarr "the opportunity to connect… in a different way than" the last year, expanding on past symposiums.

    Bryn Mawr's Director of Athletic Communications, Lauren Altschuler, attended the symposium as a junior at Dickinson College, which served as an eye-opening experience that illuminated the myriad opportunities available in the field. She shared, "I knew I wanted to work in sports but was unsure of the actual direction I planned to take." Still, through engaging with mentors, she discovered previously unknown avenues, such as graduate assistantships. According to Altschuler, from current and former head coaches to individuals leveraging their athletic backgrounds outside of sports, the symposium champions the evolution of women in athletics. 

    Just as we celebrate March for Women's History Month, the annual Snell-Shillingford Leadership Symposium broadens horizons and ignites the ambitions of young women in athletics. As more women engage in events like the Snell-Shillingford Leadership Symposium, the trajectory of women's involvement in athletics continues to ascend and aspire to women's contributions at collegiate and higher levels, promising a future marked by more prominent representation and empowerment in sports leadership roles by women, for women.