Owls on Capitol Hill

PHILADELPHIA -- Forty Temple University student-athletes took the most valuable road trip of their careers on Friday, April 30, with a journey to Washington, D.C. for an Owls on Capitol Hill event.

The trip was coordinated by Temple Athletics and its Resnick Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes with special assistance from Kristin Dini Hernandez from Temple Government Affairs. It was a three-part excursion with the first stop at the Capitol Building to meet with Pennsylvania legislatures and Temple alums working on the Hill. House Representatives on hand to meet with the Owls were Robert Brady, Dwight Evans, Patrick Meehan, Brendan Boyle and Glenn "GT" Thompson. Student-athletes also heard an impactful message from Temple football alum and current Senior Associate Counsel and Special Advisor to the President, James Schultz.

Next, the Owl student-athletes were treated to a panel at Nationals Park of Temple alumni business leaders in the D.C. area which was moderated by former women's rower and current reporter for Buzzfeed, Ali Watkins ('14). Panelists included Steve Charles ('80), Executive VP/Co-Founder of immixGroup, Lise D'Andrea ('87), former lacrosse player and current CEO/Founder of CSE, Inc., Vivien Dietz ('66), LCSW-C, LICSW, BCD, Social Worker, Mark Levin ('86), Director of Salary Cap and Agent Administration, NFLPA, Kia Johnson ('86), former women's basketball player and current producer for Reuters, and Jim Van Stone ('94), President of Business Operations, Monumental Sports and Entertainment.

"The opportunity for our student-athletes to network with leaders in their respective industries and learn from their expertise is exactly what Owls on Capitol Hill is all about," said Justin Miller, Director of the Resnick Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes. "Temple Owls passionate about their alma mater can be found in nearly every city across the country and it is a great reminder for our student-athletes to network and establish valuable relationships throughout their entire career."

"The fact that our academic department was able to put this experience together means a lot. It afforded us an opportunity to meet and network many influential people, and some high level Temple alumni. It truly was an incredible day," said Maiyah Brown, a junior on the Owls' field hockey team.

This was a tremendous experience," redshirt junior football player Ventell Bryant said. "No matter where you go you want to be able to connect with someone that can possibly help you in the future, and this trip was really beneficial in that regard,"

The final stop on the trip was at the Under Armour Office in Baltimore where the group was able to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Owls' Official Apparel company.

The student-athletes who took part on the trip were also members of the Resnick Center's newly-created Verified Program. Verified is a comprehensive career development program for student-athletes, implemented with the goal of developing "Temple's Professional Best." The Verified program is a product of a strong collaboration between the Resnick Center and the Temple Career Center, which provides regular programming and career coaching for student-athletes throughout the academic year and summer.

Click here to watch video.

Temple University Athletics

Owls on Capitol Hill

Related Videos