Western New England University has more than 70 active clubs and organizations on campus, and with that comes the opportunity for students to make friends, discover new hobbies, and get involved. It also arises the opportunity for students to tackle leadership roles and garner experience in fields that differ from their traditional academic or athletic involvement.
The clubs and organizations offered throughout the year range from Student Medias, such as Golden Bear Television and The Review of Art and Literature, Class Councils, and Special Interest Clubs such as Chorus, Model United Nations, and Feminists Unite.
One club that is often overlooked, however, is the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, more commonly known as SAAC. As our University’s athletic teams are recognized as Division III in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, this campus-wide organization exists as a place for the student-athlete body to come together and have a voice.
Arcel Kabongo Ngoy, the current president of SAAC, explains that “SAAC represents a unification of all student-athlete leaders across all sports coming together to work on a common goal of what our Athletic department stands for.” He further explains that it is a place for them to give their own personal opinions on situations that directly reflect onto their academic and athletic experience, and through this committee, student-athletes are able to be involved in conference-wide and national discussions and decisions.
The committee is made up of student-athletes from all of the different sports teams on campus, and they join together to make a difference. “I joined SAAC to try to use my opportunity as a student athlete to make a larger positive impact on campus,” says Jackson Day, a member of the committee’s executive board.
The executive board is made up of Ashley Benedict, Jackson Day, Emily Elliott, Taylor Gilmore, Sean McCusker, Brendan O’Connell, and Audrey Zaborowski. Their adviser, Jennifer Kolins, states that “the entire membership of WNE SAAC is an impressive group, and truly epitomises what it means to be a student-athlete leader.”
However, what is unique about Western New England University’s branch of SAAC is that they hold one of the 24 National Representatives: Arcel Kabongo Ngoy.
Ngoy was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is currently in his junior year. He is a Law and Society major with a minor in Philosophy, and he is a member of the Men’s Soccer team. He first joined SAAC as a freshman, and immediately, he was drawn to its community service, events, and involvement in academic and athletic matters. “Eventually, by my Sophomore year, I was lucky enough to be nominated to become an e-board member taking on more responsibilities,” he shares.
It was during his sophomore year that Ngoy was presented with the opportunity to obtain even greater roles within the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, both on campus and beyond.
In addition to the campus-wide SAAC’s around the country, athletic conferences also have members from each of their campus-committee’s come together to represent the conference as a whole. As Western New England University is a part of the Commonwealth Coast Conference, Ngoy attends CCC-wide SAAC meetings with other student-athlete representatives as well as administration that is involved with the NCAA. “Here, I met the CCC Commissioner, Gregg M. Kaye, the Associate Commissioner, Doug Chin and other SAAC reps from our conference.” he shares.
Through the Commonwealth Coast Conference SAAC, Ngoy was able to take on yet another leadership opportunity. He is the co-president of that along with Sabrina Jandreau, a student-athlete from Gordon College in Wenham, MA.
Then, at the end of his sophomore year, a significant step was taken by Ngoy: he decided to apply to be an associate member of the national Student Athlete Advisory Committee. This is a competitive area and only 24 students are accepted; however, he was extremely qualified and had the skills that it takes to be in a position with immense responsibilities. Sure enough, he received a position. “Somehow, I was selected as one of 24 national SAAC associate members,” he states humbly.
With his national role in this organization, Ngoy is given the opportunity to do things that many students do not do in their time at Western New England University. “My main duty as an associate is to relay any information coming from the national office and pass it on to the CCC conference and our partner the GNAC conference,” he says. In January, he traveled to Florida for his first national SAAC conference as a newly elected member.
Ngoy is “very blessed and fortunate” for having the ability to be involved with SAAC, and he accredits much of his success to his adviser, Jennifer Kolins. He explains that she guided him in this direction and ultimately led him to what he has endured in his journey within this organization.
Kolins has been the SAAC adviser for many years, and she has nothing but positivity to reflect upon this group. “I am so proud to work with this incredibly talented and passionate executive board and have our president Arcel represent all of DIII as one of only 24 national SAAC reps,” she shares. Kolis states that Western New England University’s branch of SAAC “been recognized by the NCAA as a group that has led the way nationally with some of their initiatives and programs that have impacted their campus and Community both locally and beyond.”
He also states that one of his favorite parts of being so involved is the connections he is able to make with others. “I specifically love getting to meet new people either through Western New England University SAAC, Conference or National SAAC,” he shares.
Arcel Kabongo Ngoy is the ipitiminy of a successful, well-rounded student-athlete of Western New England University. With all that he does, he is nothing but humble and grateful for the people around him. In an interview that was entirely based around him and his accomplishments, he made it a point to thank each and every person that helped get him where he is today. He says, “I just want to thank the Western New England University SAAC for their continued support. I appreciate each and every one of them, and I am looking forward to working together to do great things for the Golden Bear Family. Also, I’d like to give a special thank you on behalf of the entire Western New England SAAC members to Coach Jennifer Kolins and Kristina Oleksak for their continued support and dedications to making Western New England SAAC be such a great club that it is on campus.”
Ngoy is a special student with a bright future ahead of him, and not only will he continue to do great things for himself, but he will leave a legacy on campus, conference, and national SAAC as well as on Western New England University as a whole.
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