Carolina Spotlight: Taylor Leath & Andre Smith

Taylor Leath (volleyball) and Andre Smith (football) are the Carolina Spotlight student-athletes for Oct. 4, 2017, in recognition of their service and leadership as part of Student-Athlete Advisory Council.

Leath, a senior from Port Matilda, Pa., is majoring in journalism with a minor in political science. She serves as Co-President of UNC's Student-Athlete Advisory Council and also is active in Spectrum, UNC's student-athlete peer mentoring group.

Smith, a junior from Jacksonville, Fla., is majoring in communication studies. He represents the football team on SAAC and also serves on the Football Leadership Council.

Tar Heels student-athletes Taylor Leath and Andre Smith had the opportunity last summer to take their leadership skills off campus and join with others from across the Atlantic Coast Conference at the annual Summer ACC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) meetings.

Leath, a senior on the volleyball team, and Smith, a junior on the football team, both serve in leadership roles on UNC's SAAC, which includes at least two members of each team. They joined a group of 32 student-athletes representing all 15 ACC schools in Charlotte last July.

"My experience at ACC SAAC was such a privilege," Leath said. "I was able to get to know student-athletes at different university and learn about their institutions' SAACs. We were also able to be a voice for UNC student-athletes on both conference and national-level legislation. We also did some leadership development exercises that taught us about finding and developing our purpose that I will definitely continue. Overall, it was an honor to represent UNC!"

The student-athletes met to discuss various NCAA legislative proposals, including updates on time demands legislation, early recruiting and student-athlete transfers, all topics Leath and Smith have discussed with UNC SAAC. The conference gathering gave student-athletes the opportunity to share opinions and ideas from school to school. The group also discussed and set priorities for upcoming academic year, both for the ACC SAAC and for the organizations at each school. In 2017-18, the focus will be on active engagement in NCAA legislation review and feedback, improving SAAC awareness and promoting mental health awareness.

During the weekend, the ACC SAAC reps also visited patients at Levine Children's Hospital and hosted a bone marrow donor registry drive in partnership with the Project Life Movement (www.projectlifemovement.org). (UNC's SAAC hosted a drive last spring.)

For more on the information on this summer's ACC SAAC meetings, click here.

Players Mentioned

Taylor Leath

Andre Smith

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