Myrtle Beach, S.C. – (4/17/2015) – Traveling with Associate Director of Athletics for Academic Success and Community Engagement,
Nikki Lockhart, and Chestnut Hill College Dean of Students Krista Murphy, junior
Noel Hightower (Easton, Pa.) of the men's basketball team, sophomore
Andrew Hildebrand (Horsham, Pa.) of the men's lacrosse team, sophomore
Michaiah Young (Philadelphia, Pa.) of the women's basketball team, and junior
Nicole Carney (Ontario, Calif.) of the softball team will join representatives from 40 National Athletic Collegiate Conference (NCAA) Division II schools and blog about their experience at the
APPLE Division II Conference.
The APPLE conferences have been developed and coordinated by the Gordie Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at the University of Virginia. Since 1991, the APPLE conferences have served as the nation's leading training symposiums for substance abuse prevention and health promotion for student-athletes and athletics department administrators. The goal of the APPLE conferences are to assist colleges in promoting student-athlete health and wellness by empowering teams of student-athletes and administrators to create an institution-specific action plan.
Chestnut Hill College is one of four schools returning to the APPLE conference for a second year as the Griffins traveled to the 2012-2013 conference. This year, Lockhart and Murphy will both be presenting. Check back to learn more about the presentations and the great experiences enjoyed by the traveling Griffins.
4/17/2015 - Hello Hillers,
Today three students-athletes - Nicole Carney, Noel Hightower and Andrew Hildebrand - along with myself, Michaiah Young, and two chaperones, Nikki Lockhart and Krista Murphy, embarked on our journey to the APPLE Conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Our journey began early this morning at 6:30 a.m. with a ride from Frank to the airport - and if you have ever been driven by Frank, you know there was not a dull moment. Next, we arrived at the airport where we boarded the plane, which for me was my first time. I was extremely nervous and taken aback by this experience, as I have always believed that I would never get on a plane. Conversely, despite this fear, we as a group endeavored to persevere (aka I was promised wings to behave) and arrived shortly afterwards at our destination. Upon arriving in Myrtle Beach, we as a group had a tremendous lunch together and shared great stories. Once lunch concluded, we all rested as we were extremely tired. Well, some of us....Krista ran 10 miles, so shoutout to her for being awesome. After our naps, we began the conference with a few icebreakers. We met kids from Canada, New Jersey, Texas, Minnesota, Alabama, even Spain. Everyone was so nice and happy to be there. They had such great attitudes, which made the time we spent together so much better. We had a few speakers from different organizations where we learned the mission of APPLE and what we were actually there for (to educate student-athletes and non- student-athletes in our school on healthy alcohol and drug use). One speaker in particular named Linda Hancock, from Virginia Commonwealth University, broke the mission down in seven steps and offered us great laughs at the same time. Once the speakers finished, we had a few more icebreakers and a t-shirt swap with different schools to make everyone feel a little more comfortable. Overall, our day as a group was very long, but very worth it. The experience we are receiving and the relationships we are building is second to none. In a few short hours we have easily met some of the nicest people that we probably will ever meet in our lives and I know I speak for all of us when I say we eagerly look forward to tomorrow. 
4/18/2015 - Chestnut Hill student-athletes and advisors are striving to better the school at the APPLE conference. Today we started with a lovely complimentary breakfast, which led into the day's events, starting with the conference head honchos going over some important information about drugs and alcohol on college campuses. Then, we were able to meet as a group and discuss some implementations that we could bring back to Chestnut Hill to better our campus. That proceeded into the first breakout session, during which our inspired Griffins were able to learn more about research and ideas that work on college campuses to better the college experience for all. This led into lunch, which was phenomenal. Finally we got onto the beach and the day began with all sorts of activities. All these activities were about meeting other college students, athletes and advisors. Some people were tanning, playing corn hole, in the ocean, playing soccer, in the three different pools/two hot tubs, etc...there were numerous other activities that the conference allowed everyone to be involved in. After a nice popcorn and soda break, we participated in the next two breakout sessions to better Chestnut Hill College. Now when people talk about having dinner, it was an understatement the amount of food we had. Pasta, salad, rolls, potato salad and chicken - just to name a few of the wonderful foods we had. After our wonderful, filling dinner we met as a team and digested the implementations that we can bring to the campus life of the Griffins. Then as a group we created a video to compete with some of the other Division II schools. And to finish it all off: a polar plunge in the ocean. 4/19/2015 - So today was our final day at the APPLE Conference, a bittersweet time for us all. We learned so much during our short time here and are very excited to implement all the new projects we have thought up for the athletics department, but good byes are not always that easy.
Our morning began with, or should I say the night before ended with some quality time with fellow attendees in the pool. Chestnut Hill College athletes are leaders on and off the field, so of course it was our bright idea to run into the freezing cold ocean in the late hours of the night and we got a large group to follow us. Hand-in-hand, stretched down the sandy shores of Myrtle Beach we took the plunge, literally, and did not regret it for a moment. It is a memory I will never forget and through that experience I knew we had established some pretty good friendships that extend across the nation and even abroad.
The following morning at breakfast we were so exhausted from the all the events some of us may have napped a little at the table… *cough, cough* Noel. There was a certain item of the morning events that rejuvenated us and that was the fact that Chestnut Hill College was the overall winner of the video contest for Team Coalition's campaign "It's A Slam Dunk, Never Drive Drunk." Through planning and creative teamwork we were able to piece together a video that made many laugh and got the message across that it is never okay to get behind the wheel intoxicated. So for our winning video we will be bringing back an iPad Mini for our SAAC chapter.
Dr. Jason Kilmer was the final keynote speaker and was the perfect ending to an awesome conference. He was funny, but also factual in his presentation of how to address the psychological problems that are attached to substance abuse and that athletes face in general. Following his presentation we finalized our action plan that we intend to instate in the upcoming year.
