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Ryan Shumaker, Dean of Exercise Science, Health Education, Dance and Athletics, San Diego Mesa College
Aaron Detty, Dean of Health and Exercise Science & the Athletic Director for the Knights, San Diego City College
As the NCAA’s motto says, most student-athletes will ultimately go pro in something other than sports. And that is one of the most important reasons we believe so strongly in college athletics.
Every day, we see students learning lessons through athletics that will stay with them long after their final game, meet, or competition. They learn to work hard, pay attention to details, manage their time, accept feedback, overcome adversity, and depend on the people around them. They learn from mistakes. They learn when to ask for help. Most importantly, they learn that accountability isn't something to fear—it is essential to being a good teammate, employee, and leader.
Those lessons matter because our responsibility is not simply to develop better athletes. It is to develop the whole student. They will carry these lessons into any career they pursue. National research shows former college athletes are more likely than their peers to find purpose and strong relationships later in life.
At Mesa College, that means intentionally connecting athletics, academics, and personal development. Student-athletes have access to specialized academic counseling, mental health professionals, dedicated study and retention resources, developmental seminars, and programs designed to build community and connection. At City College, athletics similarly works with campus mental health services through Active Minds to help student-athletes balance academics, work, and sports, while resources such as an on-site food pantry help address students' basic needs.
We see the results. District research has found that our student-athletes are more likely than their peers to pass their classes, transfer to a four-year university and earn an associate degree. Mesa student-athletes have earned more than $3 million in athletic and academic scholarships on their way to transfer institutions, and the program now serves more than 600 student-athletes annually. Former athletes have become accountants, nurses, teachers, athletic trainers, coaches, and sports agents. At City, students have discovered careers in physical therapy, athletic training, and education.
Measure HH gives us an opportunity to match that commitment to students with facilities that support their ambitions, including a new state-of-the-art Athletics Complex at Mesa and major Outdoor Athletics Expansion and Upgrades at City, among others.
For those of us who were once community college student-athletes ourselves, that is particularly meaningful. The new athletics facilities planned at Mesa, for example, will give future Olympians resources rivaling those at many four-year institutions. They will also create opportunities extending well beyond intercollegiate competition—from athletic training and kinesiology to aquatics and lifeguard certification.
But facilities alone don't create successful students. People and programs do.
Measure HH is giving us the opportunity to create environments where those programs can thrive—places where students can compete, learn, study, build relationships, discover careers, and become part of something larger than themselves.
Some will continue competing at four-year universities. A select few may even play professionally. Most will take the discipline, resilience, teamwork, and confidence they developed through athletics into an entirely different profession.
Whatever their next arena, our job is to make sure they're ready for it.
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