Thursday was a big day for student-athletes at Santa Fe College in Gainesville.

The Saints hosted their third annual orientation and networking event.

Members of the Saints’ volleyball, womens and mens basketball, softball and baseball teams began their day at 7:30 a.m., followed by welcoming remarks by Dr. Naima Brown, Vice President of Student Affairs, and Athletics Director Chanda Stebbins at 8 a.m.

The day ended with a networking session in the gym from 4:30-5:30 p.m. featuring 30 vendors, including Mainstreet Daily News, Visit Gainesville, Coke Florida, Dillard’s, Best Western Gateway Grand, Zaxby’s and BSN Sports.

“We obviously want our student athletes to perform well on the field or the court and in the classroom, but ultimately we really want them to become the kind of people that help us become the best society we can be,” Stebbins said. “This day was really about pouring into them, helping them know what resources are available at the college, in their athletic department, and then obviously in the community.”

The keynote speaker in the morning was Santa Fe College alum John Spence, a noted presenter in helping businesses and leaders achieve excellence.

“He had a really good story,” said former Buchholz athlete Connor Brown, who will be a sophomore this season for the Saints’ baseball team. “He went to Miami. He was telling us how he flunked out and he realized he needed to get his life together and he ended up coming here…he turned his life around and it was really intriguing.”

Breakout sessions in the morning focused on growth and care and was led by moderator Jenna Wiggs Hines and featured Kim Oliver, Academic Advisor, “Coach” Alton Darling, and Jason Vereb, supervising athletic trainer.

After lunch, the keynote speaker was Freddie Wehbe, a respected business owner, developer and marketer who grew Domino’s into one of the best-selling pizza markets in the world. He also helped start Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille.

“I think that the opportunity we have, whether it’s folks like you (MDN), who are giving back, Zaxby’s, who’s partnering with us, different vendors just able to really do their part, and that’s really what a community college is about,” Stebbins said. “Even though community college isn’t in our name anymore, it’s still who we are, and as a college, one of the big things we want to do, especially with our athletic department.

“We want to impact the college-going mindset, and so some of that is working with vendors, working with churches, working with organizations like the Boys and Girls Club or the PACE Center for Girls, just to have an opportunity to put our athletes in front of them and in front of the young people in this area…North Central Florida should appreciate the gold mine that Santa Fe is.”

Santa Fe College baseball coach Johnny Wiggs, whose team will begin fall ball next week, said the theme of the day was about asking for help.

“Asking for help is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness,” he said. “And from John Spence to Freddie Wehbe, to all the people that spoke to us today, all of them had bumps in the road, and they didn’t get there without a lot of assistance and help. Sometimes we think, especially when we’re 18 and 19 years old, that we’ve got it all figured out, and then the rest of us who are now 58 trying to still figure it out, so that’s been the theme, trying to connect them with resources to help them in all aspects of their college life.”

Jackson Matyczyk, Santa Fe’s Game Day Ops/Communications Manager, was the moderator for the afternoon sessions, which included Thomas Ackerman, Director of Institute of Public Safety at Santa Fe College, Shade Sachs, Director of Learning Commons, and professor Dr. Derrick Jones.

Following the Network Session with vendors, the volleyball team took the floor for practice as they get ready for their season opener this Saturday against Pasco-Hernando and Indian River.

“This has been amazing for the athletes,” said former Buchholz coach Bailey Coleman, who enters her fourth season as head coach at Santa Fe College. “We had speakers come and talk about competitiveness and team unity, and their life…vendors supporting businesses were here and the athletes get to go around and visit with businesses in the community and reach out to our athletes, which I think is great that they get this opportunity.”

Oak Hall School alum Sophie Thompson (Libero/DS) is one of five area players on this year’s roster.

“It’s been very different,” Thompson said of college life. “I’m very thankful for the opportunity. It’s been a lot of work with two-a-days, lifts, conditioning, but I’m excited to see it all come into fruition.”