Leadership Academy Hosts "This Is Awkward" Session

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Young Professional Development Committee (YPD) returned to action with "This is Awkward", a session designed to help young professionals navigate various challenges that accompany life in the workplace.

"This is Awkward" marks the fourth YPD event held this year and the newly formed committee (headed by JTMTLA staff member Sable Lee) continues to foster the growth of young professionals by providing innovative programming and learning opportunities that equip participants with the skills necessary to excel in any intercollegiate athletics field.

As a young professional, a number of challenges can arise on the journey to success, including navigating work environments, the interview process, salary negotiations, workplace equality and work-life balance. To help young professionals master these challenges at Tech, the YPD committee assembled an all-star cast of departmental veterans to partake in a question-and-answer style panel followed by a round-table breakout session in the Football Training Facility.

The panel included special guests Amy Heard (Senior Associate Athletics Director of Leadership Development), Dr. Judi Henry (Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director / SWA), Drew Ingraham (Associate Athletics Director of Communications & Marketing), Lamarr Pottinger (Assistant Athletics Director for the Leadership Academy) and Suzanne Dickenson (Director of Academic and Student Services).

With over 70 years of combined experience between them, the star-studded quintet shared some invaluable advice with the next generation of industry leaders.

"Embrace your areas of growth and be self-aware and solution based," Ingraham said. "Always provide solutions for some of your weaknesses. It is good to understand the difference between your weaknesses and how you operate."

When asked about finding oneself and establishing a strong set of core values, Dr. Henry shared: "It takes time to develop – observing people and having more conversations will help you identify yours. Sometimes you don't find it until later in life but searching for it helps spark interest. Trust the process."

The round table breakout session allowed participants to engage with an expert panelist in a more intimate setting. Participants were able to ask specific questions regarding career advancement, crucial conversations, balance and more.

"Earlier in your career you may have to grind. Bosses recognize this, but also need to understand that we all work at different paces and in various ways," Pottinger said. "On the flip side, you have got to take care of yourself and enjoy life, especially in such a demanding industry."

Suzanne Dickenson had this to add: "Try to have work life balance by finding an activity that brings you peace. Try to do something for yourself that is your own project or something you can take full ownership of within yourself."

By far the most heavily-emphasized topic was the importance of building relationships.

"Relationship building is the most important thing anyone can learn in their career," Dr. Henry said. "Through building relationships, you are pushed to expand your horizons from not only a social standpoint, but a career advancement standpoint as well.

"This is Awkward" was well received by those in attendance and cited by many as the most resourceful, informative, and effective session held thus far.

"This was so good for me," Double T Varsity Club assistant director Kami Fryar said. "It gave me some guidance that I didn't even know I needed and answered some questions that I didn't even know I had."

"Being able to sit with these industry veterans and hear about their personal experiences really put everything into perspective for me," added Megan Kraatz of academic services. "It made me feel better about where I'm at and gave me the push I needed to continue to strive for success."

Texas Tech University Athletics

Leadership Academy Hosts "This Is Awkward" Session

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