FREWSBURG - Four athletes from Jamestown Community College were selected to be a part of the 15th annual Athletic Sportsmanship Symposium held Friday at Frewsburg Central School.

Jakob Moore (men's soccer), Axel Richardson (men's soccer), Kane Kenyon (men's basketball) and Joys Tshibangu (men's basketball) were representatives of JCC athletics and were team leaders during the various exercises. The JCC student-athletes helped their teams of high school student-athletes accomplish certain tasks.

The theme for this year's symposium is U Unlimited = Unlimited You. The message that was shared was that everyone is different and have unique backstories. The only person that can hold you back is yourself.

The event is comprised of student-athletes from surrounding schools in Cattaraugus and Chautauqua Counties that were selected by their coaches and administrators to interact with one another and to work together on tasks. The exercises helped the student-athletes work together and communicate to achieve the goals that were laid out. Along with that, these students were able to talk about how they got to where they are today.

There were three stations that each group participated in; team building, motivational speaker and discussion. In the team building group, you had to work together with your teammates to overcome certain obstacles and working together as a unit. There were five different events that the teams participated in the team building exercise.

"The team building activities should us that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses." said Richardson. "It was a great way to learn and work together as we were all going for the same goal."

In the lecture portion of the symposium, a guest speaker from Honduras, Jason, shared his story on how he made his way to the states and some of the challenges that he has had to overcome in his life. His message was that keep grinding and go after what you want in life.

"Jason was a great person to come in and talk to the student-athletes," said Tshibangu. "Even though he was there to talk to the high students, some of his points he made hit home with me."

The student-athletes were able to share some of their background of being an international student and making their way over to JCC. Moore (New Zealand), Richardson (Australia), Kenyon (England) and Tshibangu (Sweden) each shared their path to coming over to the United States and choosing JCC to further their academic and athletic careers. They talked about some of their greatest achievements that they accomplished as high school students and some obstacles that they have had to overcome whether it was on the field of competition, in the classroom or in their personal lives.

"After sharing my story with these students, it made me realize how lucky some of are," said Moore. "Some kids don't have these opportunities and we are blessed to have them."

The third station was a discussion station where the student-athletes watched clips about troubled teens from education centers and discussed their situations.

"I believe the message behind the videos we saw was how sports can bring people together," said Kenyon. "They try and help these kids have a different perspective on life."

"This was a great opportunity for our athletes to get involved with some of the area high school athletes," said Director of Athletics and Recreation George Sisson. "I believe that it is important to cultivate that relationship. Being able to learn about other people's background and life can have a positive impact on you."