Friday, January 27, 2023

Throughout the year, GNACsports.com will occasionally use this space to gain insight into the experiences of former GNAC student-athletes who were active participants in their institutional Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC). Each institution's SAAC serves as the primary governance arm representing student-athlete interests in Division II affairs. SAAC members serve as student-athlete liaisons that monitor and discuss happenings on campuses, within conferences, and at the national level.

Name: Sarissa Lammers
Sport: Cross Country Skiing
Institution: Alaska
Graduating year: 2018
Undergraduate degree: Mechanical Engineering

What is your current occupation?: I am a graduate student at Regis University, pursuing a doctorate in physical therapy.

What is your favorite memory as a student-athlete and why?: My favorite memory as a student-athlete was probably the very long training sessions we had on weekends and joining the national SAAC. The long training days were usually three to four hours of easy running and/or skiing and we just got to go explore and have a good time as teammates. Joining national SAAC was just a cool experience and I have made friends there that I am still in contact with. It was really cool to meet people from a bunch of different schools and sports but all of us had one thing in common, which was improving the student-athlete experience.

How many years were you involved in SAAC?: I was involved from 2015 to 2019.

What activity/project are you most proud of from your time in SAAC?: At UAF, we hosted what we called Nanook Olympics in the spring which was a great way to get all the sports together and watch each other attempt each other's sports and just have a good time post-season. I also put together a sexual assault awareness campaign where we got a majority of the athletes at UAF to post on social media to bring awareness to the cause.

What has been your biggest takeaway from SAAC?: My biggest takeaway is to make the most out of being part of SAAC. It doesn’t always feel like you can elicit a lot of change but even the smallest steps forward do make a big difference. Also, making connections. SAAC was a great place to network and meet people.

What advice would you give to yourself as a freshman in college?: I would tell myself to just breathe and remember that nothing in school is worth stressing that much over. Things are going to go by way faster than you think it’s going to go. Make sure you build a plan for your mental health because you never know when things might go south.

What is one thing that you wish you would have done more of in college?: There is a part of me that wishes I made more friends outside of athletics.

What is one thing that you wish you would have done less of in college?: I don’t think there is anything I wish I had done less of except maybe stress less over little things that didn’t matter.

What is one thing that people don't know about you?: My parents unintentionally named me after a spear.