Demitri Turner, JMU SAAC Leaders, Attend Sun Belt Student-Athlete Summit

Three James Madison student-athletes recently attended the Sun Belt Summer Student-Athlete Summit. One of JMU's representatives at the conference was SAAC President Demitiri Turner. For Turner, this was his second time attending the summit and felt even more motivated by the conference the second time around.

"By attending these conferences, you can tell how much the Sun Belt wants to be the best conference in the country and how much they want their student-athletes to excel in their sports," Turner said. "It was interesting to see how those two are interconnected at this level."

Going into the experience, Turner was focused on absorbing ideas from other Sun Belt representatives and thinking of ways he can implement the same programs and messages into JMU Athletics.

"Knowing the culture at JMU and how our student-athletes behave is important so I can understand how to make the messages and ideas apply specifically to us," Turner said.

Turner has been a member of SAAC for the past three years. He served as the community relations chair for his first two and now as the president. Turner believes SAAC serves as a "good representation of our student body" and wants to improve their outreach moving forward.

"If we can improve the culture of SAAC and get more people involved who have a passion to lead by example within the community it would filter through the general student-athlete body," Turner said. "That way we become stronger and more connected going into the conference."

At the conference in mid-July, Turner noticed that JMU was one of the bigger schools in attendance. Due to this, Turner believes JMU has "the opportunity and capability to be a leading school in this conference."

The conference gave student-athletes an opportunity to travel together to New Orleans, La., and get to know one another along the way. Turner attended alongside SAAC Vice President Carissa Tambroni and Kayleigh Reinke. Although he did not know Tambroni and Reinke well prior to the event, Turner appreciated getting to understand their backgrounds and further their relationships.

"It was a good experience for us to bond and get closer. Since we will be working a lot together throughout the year, building that good relationship as friends can help us be on the same page as we're trying to change the SAAC community and help our student-athletes at JMU," Turner said."

While Turner learned a lot from his fellow Dukes, he also valued learning from other schools so JMU student-athletes can build "respect and connectivity" within the conference.

Attending the summit helped Turner feel prepared for the "real world" and what life may look like after graduating from JMU.

"Learning to network, put your name out there, connect with people, speak in front of a crowd and create new ideas on the fly is so important," Turner said. "These conferences give you a glimpse into the professional world and what it's like to be a leader at the next level."

As a leader in SAAC, Turner is excited for the chance to "pay it back" to the Harrisonburg and JMU community after what they have done to help him grow as a person.

"JMU is such a special place and I've learned so much in my time here. I feel like it's only right that I pay back the favor whether that is helping people that I've never met before, incoming students, or anyone that has ties to JMU," Turner said. "I'm hoping that I can do something special this year and make their experience that much better."

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