BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Sophomore Athlete Leadership Day is a joint event of the Department of Athletics and the Center for Leadership and Service. The conference takes place on campus and the goals of the conference include helping student-athletes become more aware of their own leadership skills, developing leadership characteristics, and improving communication skills. We believe that all athletes should receive leadership development opportunities and are proud to offer the conference to support sophomores in their growth.

Our 2013 program focused on the Step UP! (http://www.stepupprogram.org/) Bystander Intervention program. Hundreds of colleges, universities and organizations are using Step UP! Materials. Step UP! is a prosocial behavior and bystander intervention program that educates students to be proactive in helping others. The goals of Step UP! are to raise awareness of helping behaviors; increase motivation to help; develop skills and confidence when responding to problems or concerns; and to ensure the safety and well-being of self and others. Over 80 student athletes and staff welcomed NCAA-funded facilitator, Cricket Lane. Lane is the Assistant Director of Athletics for Student-Athlete Development at the University of North Carolina where she is responsible for Life Skills programing.