Moses, Herrera taking part in NCAA conference

Lake Buena Vista, Fla., (May 27, 2008) - Colorado State University-Pueblo men's basketball athlete Ken Moses (Jr. - Honolulu, Hawaii) and women's cross country athlete, Lindsey Herrera (Sr. - Pueblo West, Colo.), have been selected by the NCAA to represent CSU-Pueblo at the 2008 National Student-Athlete Development Conference, which takes place from May 27-29. 

Moses and Herrera will be among over 700 student-athletes from institutions across the nation to spend three days in Lake Buena Vista, Florida discussing their experiences on campus, and enhancing their leadership, communication, decision-making and problem solving skills.

Both Moses and Herrera are active in the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and are active in community service projects for CSU-Pueblo athletics.  Herrera was the recipient of the STAR award for logging the most community service hours of any CSU-Pueblo student-athlete.  CSU-Pueblo athletic director, Joe Folda, said Moses and Herrera are indicative of the kind of student-athlete that CSU-Pueblo produces.

"Ken and Lindsey have always been great representatives of their programs and the athletic department as a whole," Folda said.  "The entire athletic department and the campus community is excited for them and this opportunity."

Formerly called the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Conference, the new Development Conference has doubled the number of student-athletes who attend from 350 to more than 700. The switch to a Development Conference is linked to the NCAA core purpose that the educational experience of student-athletes is paramount. The conference is structured to enhance the skill set and knowledge base of student-athletes, and this year's curriculum will give the student-athletes more of a voice during the event.

The conference will be conducted in two sessions, the first May 25-27, with the second scheduled for May 27-29. Student-athletes from the America-Israel Friendship League will also participate in the activities at this year's conference. Over the past 12 years, the conference has hosted more than 3,500 student-athletes and trained more than 300 athletic facilitators.

"The purpose of the 2008 National Student-Athlete Development Conference is to help the student-athletes find their voice in order to shape their future, make a commitment to lead on campus and in the community, strengthen the voice of the conference and national Student Athlete Advisory Committee and provide a process to develop a network with other student-athletes who are motivated to create significant, dramatic and positive change," said Robert Vowels, vice-president of education services at the NCAA.

"The facilitators and SAAC representatives also play a key role in pushing the student-athletes toward having a successful conference. With the new focus of the Development Conference, we'll also place more emphasis on enhancing the leadership skills of the student-athletes which not only helps them in their academic and athletic setting, but also better prepares them for life experiences after they graduate," said Vowels.

Student-athletes will discuss a variety of topics next week, such as game environment, gender equity, religion in sport, social networking, EKG testing, mental health and nutrition.