CHICAGO, Ill. – From August 12-14, a group of Illinois Tech student-athletes attended a leadership retreat at Pretty Lake Camp in Mattawan, Michigan.

Twenty-six student-athletes representing each varsity program, as well as student staff for the Keating Sports Center and Intramurals and Recreation, traveled to Michigan. The three-day trip focused on building relationships across athletic groups and to connect each sport and team to the university and athletic department as a whole.

“I feel the relationships built and challenges met at Camp Pretty Lake will help connect our athletes to each other in a way that we have not yet experienced,” said Head Baseball Coach Ed Zeifert, who also attended the retreat. “We took a step toward building leaders whom will listen as well as they talk, follow as well as they act, and give as well as they receive. I am excited about the work we did and cannot wait to continue to work with this extraordinary group of campus leaders.”

The students participated in team-building exercises, such as low and high ropes activities. Each challenge was designed to test the students’ resolve, communication and creativity. 

“Being able to attend this retreat was such an honor,” said senior women’s volleyball player Irena Grauzinis. “It was about more than just building my skills as a leader. I was able to create strong bonds and build trust with my fellow athletes, and have a blast while doing it. I think we are going to see a lot more athletes attending each other's games this year and more leaders stepping up in the athletic community.”