What began as an open Columbus Day weekend for George Mason women's volleyball student-athlete Bailey Williams turned into an opportunity to learn and grow from Atlantic 10 Athletic Directors and Commissioners.
 
The 2018 A-10 Athletic Directors and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Meeting took place in Richmond, Va. from Oct. 7-8. This marked the fourth-straight year the Atlantic 10 included SAAC members in the two-day meetings.
The junior outside hitter serves as the vice president of George Mason's SAAC. As the representative of Mason's Athletic Advisory, Williams was excited for the opportunity to attend the meetings.
 
On the first day of the conference, Williams met with other A-10 SAAC representatives to discuss past and future social media campaigns. A heavy emphasis was placed on the recent diversity and inclusion campaign that took place from Oct. 1-5. 
 
The five-day social media initiative celebrated cultural differences amongst student-athletes while starting a dialogue about diversity and inclusion.
 
Mason women's volleyball embraces a diverse team with three student-athletes from around the world.
 
"We have a lot of student-athletes on our team that are from other countries and I think it's very important that we talk about these things," said Williams. "I think it's important as student-athletes that we understand the importance of each other's cultures."
 
And Mason women's volleyball plans to do just that. 
 
On the fifth and final day of the diversity and inclusion campaign, the team pledged, "We pride ourselves on diversity and inclusion by encouraging and embracing different cultures, backgrounds, and preferences throughout our team and our school. We are so thankful for the continuous support we get from the community and will return the support given."
 
The Royal Palm Beach, Fla. native plans to use the lessons from this campaign in her career as well. Williams said, "[In the future] I think it's important to learn about the different cultures [of my coworkers]."
 
The final takeaway for the outside hitter came from the roundtable discussion on mental health. Mental health is set to be an upcoming campaign for the Atlantic 10's SAAC.
 
"We talked about the importance of what to look for in a student-athlete who is struggling with their mental health and how to create a safe environment for them."
 
Williams walked away from the weekend with newfound knowledge on diversity and inclusion, mental health and overall Division I governance. She was able to collaborate with A-10 leaders, including Mason's Athletic Director Brad Edwards, and bring back valuable lessons to Mason's SAAC and women's volleyball program. 
 
"I thought it was a valuable conference," said Williams, "and was a great opportunity for me to network with leaders from across our league."