By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com
As one of a select few chosen to participate in the NCAA's eighth annual Career in Sports Forum, Fighting Illini senior football player Del'Shawn Phillips was prepared to drink in every moment of his experience, held May 31-June 3 in Indianapolis.
He came away from the affair with a broader understanding of his options and an eagerness to take the next step.
"My expectations were definitely exceeded," Phillips said. "The environment and the people were great."
The 21-year-old senior linebacker from Highland Park, Michigan, was one of just 230 student-athletes invited to learn and explore potential careers in sports, with a primary focus on college athletics.
The forum, coordinated by Ali Teopas, the NCAA's assistant director of leadership development, covered a multitude of topics and afforded Phillips and the other student-athletes to learn first-hand from a variety of athletics professionals.
Thursday's initial session introduced the student-athletes to the "big picture" of intercollegiate athletics.
On Friday, they received a comprehensive breakdown on the NCAA's different divisions, had lunch with the NCAA staff, then got a presentation from Joanie Comstock, the Senior Vice President of Championships.
Saturday's focus was on Phillips and the other student-athletes. They gained insight about their individual identities, their emotional intelligence, and how to brand themselves both personally and professionally.
"I learned that people hire people, not just resumes," Phillips said. "It's best to be a genuine person and not always just focus on the paperwork."
Phillips roomed with Winston-Salem State University redshirt-sophomore running back Picasso Keaton.
"He and I quickly became friends," Phillips said, "but I exchanged phone numbers with a lot of the participants. A lot of friendships were formed at the forum."
Phillips said his experience in Indianapolis was educating, meaningful and just plain fun. He fully realizes that his days as an Illini football player are winding down and he's gotten valuable assistance in preparing for his future life from several members of UI's academic services staff.
"I have to give a lot of credit to Miss Carla (Suber) and to Mike (Maziarz)," Phillips said. "They've done a great job of helping me know what I need to do. They're always more than willing to help me when I have a problem.
"I can only play football for so long," he said. "so it's important to have some kind of back-up plan."
The Cass Tech High School product will earn his bachelor's degree in sports management in December, then he plans to engage in an internship.
"I'd like to work with a sports agency and learn the ins and outs of that," Phillips said. "but I'd also like to focus on organizing a foundation that's doing something for the young athletes in a community."
First things first, though, for Illinois's No. 3; the 2018 Illini football season is almost at hand.
"We're looking forward to shocking a lot of people this year," Phillips said. "We're going to be a lot more aggressive, both offensively and defensively. Last year, we were close in some games and we let them get away. I don't see that happening this year."
