The three 2023 Division III LGBTQ of the Year recipients are Anna Slominski, a swimming and diving student-athlete at Illinois Institute of Technology; Danielle O'Leary, associate director of athletics at William Peace; and Oberlin. The recipients were honored Thursday at the NCAA Convention in Phoenix.
The Division III LGBTQ of the Year Recognition Award Program, developed by the Division III LGBTQIA+ Working Group, aims to recognize, honor and celebrate the academic achievements, athletics excellence, service and leadership of LGBTQ student-athletes; the service, leadership and promotion of LGBTQ inclusion by an LGBTQ athletics administrator, coach or staff; and an athletics department or conference that has demonstrated proactive efforts to create and sustain an LGBTQ-inclusive culture.
Learn more about this year's recipients below.
2023 Division III LGBTQ Student-Athlete of the Year Award
Anna Slominski, women's swimming and diving, Illinois Institute of Technology
For Slominski, being a voice and advocate for LGBTQ members is a daily priority. As a leader on the swimming and diving team, Slominski has been out as nonbinary since their sophomore season. Additionally, Slominski helped launch a group to provide a community for LGBTQ athletes. Slominski, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, also served as president of the school's environmental engineering club. In that role, Slominski organized a panel discussion of queer engineers with a goal of connecting current LGBTQ students with STEM professionals with queer identities. Additionally, Slominski presented on queer issues and identities during a summer internship during Pride Month last June.
"Being queer is such a personal part of one's life. Especially in academics and in athletics, it can be hard to kind of integrate yourself into more nonqueer communities. So one of the biggest things that I do in terms of inclusion is just being so authentically out and being a safe space for people to be out," said Slominski, who's working on their master's degree in transportation engineering. "In athletics it's impactful to see queer people. That's what makes this award so special, to see great people in athletics being authentically themselves, and I'm glad to be kind of another voice to that movement."
2023 Division III LGBTQ Administrator/Coach/Staff of the Year Award
Danielle O'Leary, William Peace
O'Leary serves as a program facilitator for the NCAA Division III LGBTQ OneTeam Program and is an active member of Women Leaders in Sports, including co-facilitating its LGBTQ member circle. Her work in this space spans well beyond her campus, however. O'Leary said she consistently promotes the OneTeam program with other athletics administrators in her network because she's seen the positive impact it can have. She facilitated a OneTeam session in December 2022, which led to William Peace bringing LGBTQ inclusion training to all student-athletes last fall. She hopes to expand this to her entire conference, the USA South Athletic Conference. O'Leary also serves as a member of the William Peace LGBTQ+ employee resource group, which advocates for campus involvement in the greater Raleigh, North Carolina, community through promotion of LGBTQ+/Pride programs.
"The most important work is showing up for our student-athletes and showing that it's OK to be themselves and be authentic. I want to continue to advocate and promote the OneTeam program because I know that education is the first and the most important step toward inclusion," O'Leary said. "I would not be receiving this award without the support of mentors and allies. The work I've done with the OneTeam program is because of the conference commissioners and athletics directors that have recognized the need for education and identifying inclusive practices. For me, receiving this award means that people are actively doing the work to be better allies, and that's why this award and recognition is so special."
2023 Division III LGBTQ Athletics Department/Conference of the Year Award
Oberlin
Diversity, equity and inclusion is at the forefront of Oberlin's mission. The school's expansive efforts supporting LGBTQ student-athletes and staff include required education, physical and financial resources, campus and community partnerships, and panel discussions.
"This award comes with a great sense of pride. It also comes with a great sense of responsibility. We cannot become complacent. We must constantly commit ourselves to maintaining and improving inclusivity on our campus," said Natalie Winkelfoos, director of athletics at Oberlin. "As a staff, we talk about being a department that is compassionately competitive. We truly do our best to put people first while we're doing our best to make sure that we're on the same team as humanity. I'm a believer that inclusion requires a compassionate mindset, so compassion mixed with intentional inclusion can be incredibly powerful."
Among Oberlin's inclusion efforts are requiring staff and student-athletes to complete microaggression, pronoun and allyship trainings. The school has also hosted Pride-themed basketball games and 5K races to raise money for The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth. OneTeam trainings have been offered to anyone in the athletics department, as well. The school is mindful of pronouns for all staff and student-athletes, maintaining a master list with those details to use in any print or digital materials. Transgender athletes have also been brought to campus to speak to student-athletes and staff. In 2018, Oberlin dedicated a locker room to be an all-gender changing space for transgender student-athletes and community members. In 2023, Oberlin student-athletes started a Queer Student Athlete Group to create a safe space for queer athletes to feel heard, represented and appreciated.
"We know that we do the work every single day to try and promote inclusivity," said Maggie Balderstone, who plays on the Oberlin women's basketball team. "To know that this department is receiving this award shows not just people on campus but people outside of campus and across Division III that Oberlin is going to stand with their LGBTQ+ athletes no matter what outside factors may affect that."
