WASHINGTON – The BIG EAST Conference hosted its annual women's basketball event this past weekend with programs aimed at helping student-athletes succeed on and off the court and after their college careers are over.

The virtual format allowed the women to hear from some of the same speakers in individual sessions.  Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble, mental health expert, renowned researcher, consultant and author, used the hashtag #youreneveralone to show that there are always people who care and emphasized that student-athletes should seek support when needed and added thoughts how they can help others.  Dr. Alfiee, as she is known, offered one practical suggestion to reduce stress – reduce time on social media.

Tracy Ellis-Ward, BIG EAST Associate Commissioner for Women's Basketball helped coordinate the Transition Game program.  "We did our best to try to bring the student-athletes the highlights of the Transition Game program and brought them what was most important and relevant to the times we're living in," said Ellis-Ward.  "Everything from the former player panelists to Strength Finders to learning more about civic engagement, and 'minding your own mental health', are all very important to hold close to their hearts as they navigate this academic year and this basketball season."

Transition Game participants heard from Connecticut graduate and WNBA standout Renee Montgomery, along with Dr. Andrew Mac Intosh and Scott Koenning from Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE) regarding the importance of civic engagement and social activism. Student-athletes were put into small groups for genuine discussions on what they can do to address inequalities and direct social change. Montgomery shared her journey regarding the decision to forego the 2020 WNBA season and commit fully to activism.

Sharod Tomlinson addressed Transition Game with a Strength Finders exercise.  Tomlinson, a personal development and community outreach expert, works with organizations to help employees, managers and teams attain peak performance.  Tomlinson is the Director of the RISE Network at St. John's.

The Transition Game former player panel focused on how the skills they developed as a student-athletes can translate into a successful career path.

The former player panel included Creighton's Sara Roberge, Georgetown's Monica McNutt, Marquette's Kareeda Chones Aguam and Villanova's Briana Weiss.  Roberge is a pediatric nurse and Heart Transplant Coordinator in Omaha, Neb.  McNutt is a broadcaster for several television outlets, including FOX Sports, ESPN/ACC Network and MSG Network.  Chones-Aguam is V.P. of Partner Strategy and Management of the Milwaukee Bucks.  Weiss is the assistant director of the USA National Women's Basketball Team for USA Basketball.

"I love this program, said McNutt (Georgetown, '11).  "I think it's so important that we have some of these conversations. The panelists are all terrific. We don't necessarily have all the right answers but we can share our experiences and I think that there's power in that."

Georgetown Attendees
Shanniah Wright
"The BIG EAST Transition Game was very informative, I had a really good time listening to all the speakers and genuinely enjoyed the variety of speakers that were presented to us. Even though, unfortunately, we couldn't make the trip to New York due to COVID the BIG EAST did an amazing job of making the virtual experience as informative and enjoyable as possible!"

Jillian Archer
"I really enjoyed Transition Game. The panelists were all different in their respective fields, but they all shared such an influential story that only encouraged me to continue to stay focused. I really enjoyed our discussions with Dr. Alfiee as well as RISE. I think that it was awesome how they encouraged us to use our platform to bring awareness to social issues and mental health challenges that many face."

Taylor Baur
"The Transition Game was an incredible experience getting to hear from a variety of speakers touch on a range of topics from the transition to professional life, civic engagement, and mental health. It was a great opportunity to learn from these influential women who have once been in our shoes!"