TOLEDO, Ohio – Eight University of Toledo student-athletes recently had the opportunity to share a meal and exchange ideas with Dr. Anne Balazs, Dean of the John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation, in the latest chapter of Dining With the Deans.
 
Dining With the Deans is hosted by the Athletic Department and provides a venue for Rocket student-athletes to meet with UToledo deans and other University leaders in an informal dining setting. The group dined at Calvinos on Central Avenue last week. In addition to Dr. Balazs, others attending the dinner were Vice President and Director of Athletics Bryan B. Blair, Executive Associate Athletic Director Nicole Alderson, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Experience Tony Belt, and Faculty Athletic Representative Kim Nigem

"Dining With the Deans is something we started last fall, and we are so glad we did," Belt said. "Giving our student-athletes the opportunity to sit and share a meal with Dean Balazs and Bryan Blair at the same time is awesome to see. Over 33% of our student-athletes are enrolled in the business school and it's filled with some of our best and brightest student-athletes. The energy, conversation, and personal stories made it a great time."

Dr. Balazs said she was impressed by the goals and objectives that the student-athletes discussed throughout the evening.
 
"The dinner was a great opportunity to have a meaningful exchange with our College's student athletes," Dr. Balazs said. "It is rare that our schedules would align, but they were very willing to share their perspective on navigating sports schedules, classes, and training. I was very impressed by their professional ambitions, dedication, and drive. The Neff College truly has star performers in every field."

The eight student-athletes at the dinner were Aubrey Duhaime (women's cross country/pre-business), Marko Galic (men's tennis/marketing), Dallas Gant (football/MBA-administration), Nan Garcia (women's basketball/management), Cooper Rusk (football/pre-business), Pawit Sornlaksup (men's tennis/information systems), Sanjana Tallamraju (women's tennis/pre-business) and Sophia Wiard (women's basketball/MBA-finance). All are interested in pursuing careers in business-related fields.

"Dining With the Deans was a unique experience," Garcia said. "It was inspiring to be in a room with people of that academic prowess. It really grew my interest in the places that academics can take you as a student-athlete."

Previous Dining With the Deans attendees included Linda Lewandowski, Dean of the College of Nursing; Christopher Cooper, Dean of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences; Mike Toole, the Dean of the College of Engineering; and Sammy Spann, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students.