Intern Zach Lawson sums up his first NCAA Convention experience.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the experience of attending the 2007 NCAA Convention, and, honestly, I’m not sure how I’ll explain what all happened if someone were to ask me. How do you sufficiently wrap up five days of forums, meetings, presentations, speeches and receptions? Lots of receptions!

Maybe I’ll start with the commitment of the people involved. The passion these administrators, faculty members and student-athletes have for their respective campuses is very refreshing. The enthusiasm runs so deep that it moved a delegate to sing as he took the floor of the Division III Business Session, which reminded me that American Idol starts up again in two weeks.

There were 2,697 delegates in attendance and by no means did I meet them all—there were two or three that managed to sneak by me—and everyone had unique experiences. I really did meet some incredible people. I was also encouraged by how engaged the national SAAC members and other student-athletes were in the development of a fun, healthy college experience.

With a majority of my experience limited to the Division I level, it is so fascinating to see all three divisions come together under one roof. Everything before now was segmented in my head—attending a Division I university, going to the Division II National Championships Festival in November and assisting at the Division III Student-Athlete Leadership Conference. The Association-wide sessions to discuss topics from eligibility to sports wagering reinforced how every NCAA institution deals with very similar issues.

Still with nearly 1,300 members, the NCAA is as diverse an organization as I can think of. You could potentially meet a representative from each place and hear a different story because each institution has distinct goals and needs.

So here I am on the last day of Convention, seven months into my internship, and through all my experiences I’ve gained so much. Yet, I’m still blown away by how much I still don’t know, which means I’ll have even more opportunities to learn. And attend more receptions.