Tar Heels Travel To L.A. For Black Student-Athlete Summit

Five Tar Heel student-athletes recently represented UNC as part of the Black Student-Athlete Summit, hosted by the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Maria Gakdeng (women's basketball), Tiesyn Harris (men's swimming & diving), J.J. Jones (football), Chelsea Thorpe (volleyball) and Olivia Thomas (women's soccer) attended the three-day summit on behalf of Carolina, joining student-athletes from across the country for the May 23-26 event.

"It was an awesome experience to network with Black professionals and interact with other Black student-athletes," Thorpe said. "There was always so much love and power in each room."

During a packed schedule of sessions, student-athletes learned about such topics as investing, social media, the future of DEI, personal branding, and mindfulness. Panelist ranged from current student-athletes to Olympians to industry leaders.

The summit also included a Pro Day networking event with representatives from a wide range of career fields including tech, real estate, apparel, law, entertainment and entrepreneurship.

"This was such an educational adventure for our student-athletes," said Senior Associate Athletic Director Cricket Lane, who accompanied the group along with Student-Athlete Development Assistant Director Briana Singleton. "They were able to interact and share experiences with so many student-athletes who looked like them, learn from and network with Black industry professionals, and, of course, explore L.A."

Players Mentioned

Maria Gakdeng

Tiesyn Harris

J.J. Jones

Olivia Thomas

Chelsea Thorpe

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