JACKSON, Miss. (May 1, 2017) – Millsaps College has partnered with Strive: How You Lead Matters, to provide a Leadership Summit for select Millsaps student-athletes. Part of the "Major Difference" initiative, it will be the first of a series of partnerships between Millsaps and Strive over the next year.
 
Selected team captains and leaders from Millsaps' varsity athletics teams will attend a two-day workshop on May 2-3 that will provide an exceptional and comprehensive leadership training program to the attendees. Strive's workshops, which are grounded in a research-based, customizable curriculum, are delivered by engaging and seasoned facilitators with collegiate athletic and education backgrounds. Through intentional programming, student-athletes tackle concepts of leadership styles, empathy, grit, and communication. They leave with an increased sense of intrapersonal and interpersonal awareness that allows them to compete at a high level while also serving as more effective players, teammates, captains, and members of the campus community.
 
"This is the first of many opportunities we will provide our student athletes in the area of leadership," said Jaime Fisher, Associate AD, Director of Leadership Programs and Head Volleyball Coach at Millsaps. "The 'Major Way' leadership program will eventually be designed to provide training and education for all student-athletes, with tailored sessions for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. Each year an athletes grow within our teams and programs they are faced with different challenges and obstacles; with ongoing leadership training and mentoring we will prepare our student-athletes to be able to face these problems head on as well as prepare them for life after Millspas.
 
Developed by Donnie Brooks, Director of Athletics at Millsaps, the Major Difference initiative seeks to motivate student-athletes to achieve excellence in every aspect of their lives; athletic, academic and personal development. This "all-in" approach will redefine what it means to be a student-athlete and promote a first-class experience that elite athletes want to be a part of.
 
Strive is a non-profit dedicated to spreading the power of character-driven leadership. It introduces student-athletes and coaches to an intentional way of culture building and leading – one rooted in self-awareness and empowered by a values-based, culture-driven community.