As an avid sports fan and a former volleyball player and cross country runner, Virginia Peninsula Community College President Dr. Towuanna Porter Brannon has long advocated the benefits of athletics. She approaches the athletics programs at the College the same way she does Phi Theta Kappa (an honor society), Student Government Association or Student Ambassadors.
“It is a student leadership development initiative, and I don't think it gets the attention or gets the same credit as those programs do,” she said.
She noted athletes must be full-time students (minimum 12 credit hours a semester) in good academic standing. Many work or have family obligations. That’s in addition to their commitment to practice and travel with their team.
“The amount of organization, prioritizing and just grit that you have to have in order to maintain eligibility is something that the average student does not have to do,” she said. “And you have to go out and perform in front of people who might be jeering you, who might be antagonizing you.”
Things athletics teaches - being a team player, hard work, bouncing back after failure, accepting coaching and criticism - translate to the real world.
“The types of soft skills and hard skills you need to have to be a successful athlete are the same things you have to have if you’re going to be successful in life, in your professional careers,” she said. “I support athletics and growing athletics because it creates really great students, employers, employees, and citizens.”
With last month’s announcement an esports team will start competing in the fall, the VPCC athletics program has grown from three sports to 10 since Dr. Brannon was named president in January 2021.
Cinthya Bates expects to graduate in the summer with an associate degree in social science and then wants to join the Air Force to become a translator for the government. She has been on the Gators’ track and field team since spring 2024. She likes how sports holds you accountable to yourself and others, just like in the working world.
“In my field, you need to be a people person, you need to be able to interact with others and have that self-discipline and initiative to say, ‘OK, I need to get out there. I need to meet more people and talk to more people,’” she said.
When VPCC lost its track and field coach a few weeks before the fall semester, it left a void. Bates stepped in as a liaison between the runners and the athletics department, helping organize workouts and keeping the athletes engaged. That brought out another trait that will come in handy in her desired profession.
“(It’s) not just waiting for an opportunity but actually taking it on your own,” she said. “Coordinating how to deal with people, making sure personalities match helps you read a person a little bit better for political science, for interacting with people.”
Bates also noted that for many, athletics were a big part of their high school experience. Being on a team in college can help make the transition easier. It provides a second family and an activity to look forward to.
“It’s been a stepping-stone for transitioning from high school to college, that you have something that’s consistent,” she said. “It doesn’t feel like you are just stepping out into the world and figuring it out on your own. You have a family that helps transition you into college.”
Bates ran all through high school and it has helped her cope with the loss of her daughter and husband.
“It gives you a sense of purpose,” she said. “For me, when everything felt like it changed in my life, that was the one thing I could look forward to that stayed consistent; that I get to run and forget about everything and stay focused on my goals.”
Asheton Glass, who is working toward an associate degree in social science and wants to pursue psychology, said his experience as a member of the men’s basketball team has been invaluable.
“It has helped me build a drive to want to do better and do more for myself,” he said.
It also has forced him to assert himself.
“I used to be a real introvert, but after being part of the team, I started to open up more,” he said. “Now, I feel as though I'm able to talk to anybody.”
Officially, the only organization he’s a member of is TRiO Student Support Services.
“But whenever clubs have events going on, I show up here on campus and try to help out as much as I can,” he said.
Nathalia Matthews, another member of the track and field team, is the Student Government Association president. She said the mental aspect of sports is most beneficial to her.
“I think sports have contributed mainly with the training and the mindset and the perseverance. You just don't give up, right?” she said. “No one runs to be a loser.”
She added that momentum and drive can transition to your personal life, as well.
“And then the structure as you train, you get better. You see things. Things look a little different than (they) did yesterday, than (they) did a month ago. You're strengthening in that aspect and transforming from athlete to an overall mindset,” she said.
She has experienced that firsthand as an older student who is in the middle of a career change while taking care of a 3-year-old daughter. She has a degree in Fashion Design from American Intercontinental University and was an allocation analyst for Dollar Tree. She’s familiar with being in boardrooms and corporate offices. Those experiences have had parallels to sports.
“I completely see (sports) as a leadership opportunity,” she said. “It's a leadership within yourself.”
In sports, you determine your own path and success by the work you put in, she said. She has never met a leader who has all the answers. Instead, they figure out ways to make things work, and one thing they won’t do is not try.
“A leader just finds it within themselves, with the other individuals around them, to cultivate (success) and they push forward,” she said.
As with anything, she said, expect the unexpected. That’s true in sports and life. She never expected to be back at school in her late 30s, changing careers. But here she is studying early childhood development while raising a child herself.
At VPCC, athletics clearly is much more than wins and losses.
For more information on VPCC, visit www.vpcc.edu. For more information on VPCC athletics, visit www.vpccgators.com.