USSA Alumni Newsletter – August 2024

In her time at the OLY House in Paris, Dr. Zaharia shared her preliminary survey results on the Leadership Skills of Olympic Athletes. Dr. Zaharia also spoke on a panel for the OLY House, discussing Olympism and academics alongside other Olympians. She takes her role within the OLY House as a great honor and is thrilled to give back to the World Olympic Association, sharing her research and knowledge with all. Dr. Zaharia is a passionate advocate of helping others achieve their full potential and lead healthy, successful lives. She incorporates this passion into her leadership and teaching philosophy to inspire the next generation of athletes, sports leaders, and people of all ages and ability levels. Dr. Zaharia also brought a special guest with her to the Olympics, USSU master’s student Jessica Culver.

Pictured above is Dr. Noemi Zaharia signing the 1988 Seoul Games poster inside the OLY House. Dr. Zaharia (Lung) competed at the 1988 Seoul Games, winning silver in the 400m medley and bronze in the 200m medley. As Dr. Zaharia always says, “Once an Olympian, always an Olympian.”

Dr. BerNadette Lawson-Williams graduated from the United States Sports University in 2002 with her Doctoral degree in Sports Management. Lawson-Williams is in her 20th year at Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU), where she serves as a tenured Professor of Sports Management. Additionally, Dr. Lawson-Williams is the Founder and Coordinator of JCSU’s Esports and Gaming Trifecta, as well as its online Sports Management programs.

Lawson-Williams first found a love for the world of sports in undergrad studies, where she studied Sports Marketing. While working for the Carolina Panthers she developed a passion for the creativity that sports marketing brought her. This passion led her to pursue a career in academia, where she served as an assistant professor of sports management and developed various programs at her institution. Recognizing the value of further education, she obtained her doctorate from USSA, which significantly advanced her career in both sports marketing and sports management.

Lawson-Williams has also taken a unique path in the sports world as she founded the Esports and Gaming Trifecta at her university. An avid video game enthusiast since the 1980s, her interest in esports was piqued when she learned about other universities exploring the addition of esports programs. In 2019, she spearheaded the approval of the esports program at JCSU. Since then, she has collaborated with leading esports and gaming companies, including Call of Duty and Epic Games. Lawson-Williams sees esports and sports management as “fraternal twins” like her own fraternal twin children; she says they are the same with different personalities as one is electronic and the other in the classroom. Lawson-Williams’ research on esports and gaming was recently featured in the 8th edition of Human Kinetics’ Contemporary Sports Management, which is widely regarded as one of the most popular undergraduate sports management textbooks on the market.

Lawson-Williams credits USSA’s innovation and early start in the online course development in her career success today. As the director for JCSU’s online sports management program, she is thankful for the early exposure and experience with online learning that her time with USSU provided. The partially online leaning format prepared her for the future and the faculty’s approach to teaching. Lawson-Williams remembers the Socratic-like method and how that both challenged and equipped her to think critically and creatively. Twenty-two years later, Lawson-Williams still carries the influence of her USSU professors and advisors as she now guides students herself. She encourages students to find and pursue their own passions and to follow that path, letting it drive them towards building a legacy in the sports world.

Interested in being a future alumni spotlight? Please email [email protected] with interest.

As we begin August and the fall semester approaches, the United States Sports University is excited to welcome 175 new students to the Academy family, with over 115 students on campus. This will be the largest student group hosted on campus in the Academy’s history! This notable achievement is largely attributed to the addition of five intercollegiate athletic sports teams at USSA, bringing the total enrollment to just over 240 students.

Faculty, staff, coaches, and students have been diligently preparing for this exciting time as USSU welcomes men’s and women’s track, men’s and women’s soccer, baseball, and softball student athletes. While many of our talented student athletes hail from local communities, we are also proud to host many students from out of state. These students will benefit from a hybrid teaching model, with some courses conducted online and others in person. In addition to the growth in enrollment, the Academy’s academic programs and course offerings are expanding in response to the new energy and talent on campus.

The Eagles’ home games will be held at local sports facilities in Daphne and Fairhope. The Academy encourages local alumni to attend an Eagle sporting event this fall and show their support! The athletic calendar can be found at: Composite Schedule – United States Sports University (ussaeagles.com)