Throughout the fall semester, the City University of New York Athletic Conference will spotlight campus administrators, who go above and beyond for our student-athletes to ensure they have a positive and successful collegiate experience.
The phrase "wear many hats" is commonly used among NCAA Division III athletic administrators, and that statement is applicable to Sharia Marcus-Carter, Senior Woman Administrator/Compliance and Student-Athlete Program Coordinator and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Advisor at Brooklyn College.
Marcus-Carter arrived at Brooklyn in December of 2019, and through her abundance of college athletics experience, she quickly watched her responsibilities grow. As Senior Woman Administrator, the highest-ranking female in each NCAA athletics department, Marcus-Carter is tasked with promoting meaningful representation of women in the leadership and management of college sports.
As Compliance and Student-Athlete Program Coordinator, Marcus-Carter is responsible for ensuring that student-athletes are eligible for competition. This includes having students fill out the necessary paperwork for the NCAA and working with Athletic Trainers for medical clearance among other necessary tasks.
As Brooklyn's SAAC Advisor, Marcus-Carter meets with student-athletes on a weekly basis, assisting in implementing student-athlete based initiatives, encouraging community outreach, all while enhancing student-athlete involvement and understanding of Division III in general.
As her title suggests, Marcus-Carter indeed wears many hats, which changes her schedule daily, depending on what's needed for the student-athletes.
"Generally, I start my day checking emails from the close of business the day before and leading up to the time I log onto the computer," said Marcus-Carter. "There are days where I meet with student-athletes to discuss academic concerns and progress, while on other days, I'm in a department meeting discussing issues that we've had or can improve upon to better serve our student athletes."
Like most, Marcus-Carter had her day-to-day adjusted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, causing moments of difficulty navigating working from home while balancing family life and helping student-athletes. However, she remains focused on the bigger picture.
"Though there are no sports, it is important that our student athletes are performing to the highest of standards of Brooklyn College in their virtual classrooms. My goal is to be present and available for all of our student athletes so that they will be at ease to focus academically," said Marcus-Carter.
Marcus-Carter is no stranger to a large workload. Prior to her time with the Bulldogs, she served as the Assistant to the Director of Athletics and Compliance at Sarah Lawrence College through the NCAA Division III Ethic Minorities and Women's Internship Grant, an initiative created to enhance ethnic minority and gender representation in athletics administration and assistant coaching positions.
"It is essential for diversity in all aspects of the job market. However, within athletics, there has been a huge lack of diversity within the coaching ranks as well as athletic administration," explained Marcus-Carter. "I believe that an athletics department should have representation from all ethnicities whether the student body represents diversity or not. Most student-athletes relate to someone within their ethnic background, and I think it's essential to have a diverse athletic administration department."
During her stint with the Gryphons, Sharia was responsible for implementing and enforcing NCAA and institutional rules and regulations for all athletic programs, monitoring all recruiting and countable athletic activities, and serving as an educational resource for the college community on NCAA rules and regulations. In addition, she oversaw all operations of the fitness campus, including the supervision of 10-15 student workers and payroll, while assisting in game day operations for the department's 15 intercollegiate programs. Sharia also represented the athletic department at a number of compliance-related seminars and the annual NCAA Convention, providing her an opportunity to network.
The role was Sharia's first taste of college athletics in an administrative capacity after spending over a decade as a basketball coach. She served as the top assistant at SUNY Old Westbury (NY), where she assumed recruiting and scouting duties, as well as academic advising and playing an integral role in the all-around direction of the program. Marcus-Carter also had a stint as the lead assistant coach and study hall coordinator at Clinton Junior College (Rock Hill, SC), including an additional stop as a top assistant at Cosumnes River Community College (Sacramento, CA).
Along with her experience as a college coach, Sharia has worked extensively on the grassroots level of basketball, coaching for the AAU program and the Long Island Silver Bullets Basketball Club. She has also coached at numerous basketball camps, including the C. Vivian Stringer Basketball Camp at Rutgers University.
Marcus-Carter's experience as a coach played a major role in her current role today in administration. "My experience as a coach definitely influenced me in my current role because I approach it the same way that I did then, which is to be present and support student-athletes through guidance, providing useful resources and honest conversation that fosters trust and continued growth for our student-athletes."
Marcus-Carter has always been around the game of basketball. A graduate of Baldwin High School in Long Island, Sharia was a three-time team captain, team MVP and All-County selection. She also garnered a spot on the Newsday's All-Long Island team, a recognition as one of the top players on Long Island. Marcus-Carter's proudest accomplishment as a player occurred during her senior year of high school when she led Baldwin High School to its first league title in 30 years. Marcus-Carter played collegiate basketball at Division II Dowling College and ending her career at Nyack College.
"My experience as a student-athlete was the reason that I wanted to stay in college athletics," said Marcus-Carter. "Unfortunately, my playing career had not turned out the way that I envisioned, and overall I was not happy with my experience with the college administration. I felt like there was little to no help with academic issues, advice and overall guidance. In my current role at Brooklyn College, I always make sure that I am available for all of our student-athletes, no matter what the situation is, big or small."
With her experience as a student-athlete, Marcus-Carter can put herself in the shoes of current student-athletes and advise them to embrace being uncomfortable. "Adaptability is essential to personal growth both in and out of the classroom," said Marcus-Carter. "The more flexible you are and willingness to adapt to change, the more prepared you will be to not let things change your approach."
With her wealth of experience in college athletics, Sharia cites self-awareness as an attribute for success. "I've always prided myself on understanding where I stood as both a player and coach. Self-awareness means understanding the type of person and player that you are. Once you understand that, everything else is pretty simple because it will allow you to not take things personal, and objectively evaluate your own strengths and weaknesses," said Marcus-Carter.
"It's the progression that a student-athlete makes from their first year to graduation," this is Marcus-Carter's biggest joy of working in college athletics.
"Watching student-athletes problem solve, ask questions, take an interest in helping their communities and working hard to achieve the success always brings a smile to my face. When I have student-athletes call or email me from years ago and talk about how I played a role in the type of person that they are now is an incredible feeling. I got into college athletics to serve a community of student-athletes and in return, I've received happiness through watching student-athletes become teachers, coaches, and administrators and bringing the same joy and attentiveness to the position as I have."
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