Former Penn State and NFL tight end, Brett Brackett, visited William
Allen on March 29 to deliver a valuable message to 25 student athlete
football players about utilizing LinkedIn as a powerful resource to
prepare for college and future careers.
Brett was a standout
football player at Penn State, where he was the captain his senior year.
He signed with the Miami Dolphins in 2011 and played in the NFL until
2014. Since then, Brett has been teaming up with the career development
arm of AthLife to help develop his own path.
The group learned the
basics of LinkedIn by identifying transferable skills from athletics
and networking etiquette. Currently, student athletes are building their
own LinkedIn profile in preparation for the next step beyond high
school. Allen High School Sophomore Heiro Valdez-Rosario really enjoyed
the experience, "Meeting a former NFL player like Brett, and learning
about how to prepare for life after football proves that great
achievements are always possible through hard work."
Reflecting on
the experience Brackett stated, "Today I had the privilege of getting
to know a great group of student athletes at William Allen High School.
Someday, all athletes stop playing organized sports, but the tools they
build while playing can provide them with the intangibles needed to
excel in the future."
The opportunity was created through the
AthLife Foundation and William Allen’s student athlete development
program, S.O.A.R., which is now in its seventh year of operation.
According to Academic Athletic Coach Melissa Roehrich “One of our goals
is to prepare students to be lifelong learners who are active in their
communities. Teaching them to use online resources in a professional
manner helps to develop those skills."
Junior, Jahnai Harry summed
up, "Through what we learned today, Brett helped a new generation of
Allen Football aspire to do great things!"