April 3, 2012
By Chardonnai Johnson, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Stories of bravery, teamwork, and brotherhood echoed through the conference room of the Nittany Lion Inn as Navy SEAL Commander Mark McGinnis told tales of leadership to willing listeners.
McGinnis traveled all the way from Austin, Texas, to give a presentation and discussion entitled "Leadership in Challenging Times" to the student-athlete members of the Athletic Director's Leadership Institute, ADLI. The presentation was yet another one of the ADLI's annual student events.
Advisory Board Member Brady Rourke had nothing but high expectations for the commander's presentation. Rourke, who had been present at another conference where McGinnis spoke, made it his mission to bring him to Penn State.
"I met him at a conference last summer in Dallas," said Rourke. "And when I heard his presentation my immediate thought was `I want to get him in front of the student athletes at Penn State."
Rourke was moved by McGinnis' core message about leadership seeing how applicable it was to all people and all organizations. Thanks to the support of Athletics Administration and the ADLI Advisory Board, Rourke's mission to bring Commander McGinnis to Penn State became reality. He was confident the Commander's message would resonate with student-athletes.
For Alexa Hetzel of the women's swim team, it did.
"The `all in, all the time' saying he had really hit home for me," said Hetzel. "There's a lot of distractions, but I have to focus everything on that one goal so I don't let down the people that are counting on me."
McGinnis' emphasis on listening to what others have to say instead of waiting for a turn to speak also clicked for Hetzel. For her it's one of the most important qualities of a good leader and she is grateful that he came to speak.
"It really was just so informative," said Hetzel, "And it really was just an honor to have him come here and take time out of his schedule to do it."
Football athletes Miles Dieffenbach, Luke Graham, and Mike Farrell, who were also in attendance, took a lot from the presentation as well.
"I definitely get the leadership skills of being a Navy SEAL," said Graham. "They really kind of pertain to us and our jobs as student athletes."
His teammates agreed, commenting that it was really McGinnis' personality and charisma that made his presentation stand out in their minds.
"There's not a lot of people that you can have come in and capture attention," said Farrell. "He [McGinnis] was really good at teaching us things that could be translated to sports. It appealed to us."
Despite his confidence in McGinnis as a speaker, Rourke admits that he was a little nervous on the day of the event.
"I was just looking around the room the whole night," said Rourke. "I was really just wondering if the students were seeing what I did at that conference in Texas. Wondering, are they getting it?"
A quick peruse of the room put a stop to his nervousness after seeing the nodding heads and smiles of students in the audience. They were getting the message McGinnis was passing along and the expectations he had for the event were exceeded.
It was important to Rourke that the ADLI students went away from this event with new insights about leadership after the hardships that plagued the University this school year. He wanted them to learn how to react and go about things even in crisis.
"Commander McGinnis said, `with unprecedented challenge comes unprecedented opportunity," said Rourke. "We've faced some unprecedented challenges this year, but they've given us a reason to focus more intently on leadership education for our student-athletes.
After talking to a few of his ADLI students, Rourke's hopes would further materialize. Every student he talked to raved about McGinnis and pointed out things they learned and could apply to their own lives. McGinnis presentation had a lasting impact on the students, but even Rourke admits that he learned a lot from the Commander.
"Just in conversation with his insights and experiences," said Rourke. "I was like a sponge just trying to soak it all up. You learn a lot. It's really had a major impact on me and my life."
To get concrete feedback from the students, Rourke said they will have to post on an Angel discussion board a few things that they learned and how they're applying them to their own sports positions.
The discussion board will help him to figure out how big of an impact McGinnis had on the students and whether they would like him to speak again.
The possibility of McGinnis returning is something Rourke is already sold on though.
He had already started brainstorming ideas and approaches for McGinnis' to discuss if he did come back for another event. One he mentioned was individual presentations to the different sports teams and coaches.
It's not every day that people get to pick the brain of a Navy SEAL or even get leadership advice from one. The fact that the ADLI had the opportunity to do so is something Rourke will forever be grateful for.
"It was a true honor," said Rourke. "I'm thankful our Athletic Department is so supportive of initiatives such as this. The administration's desire and support for our student-athletes and staff to learn from extraordinary speaker's like Commander Mark McGinnis made a lasting impression on us all."