EUGENE, Ore. – Incredible opportunities continue to unfold for Student-Athlete Mental Health Coordinator Sam Silver, as she was recently named an Ambassador for the International University Sports Federation.
In her new role, Silver will be part of the trainings and zoom meetings helping to build ideas as well as expectations for the next World Forum, taking place in Östersund, Sweden in 2026, and planning other future FISU events. She has also been asked to potentially speak on Student-Athlete Mental Health issues at the FISU World University Games next summer in Germany.
She said, “Becoming an ambassador is such an honor and it fuels the fire I have to continue to help athletes, but now it’s on an international level.”
Her new role stems from her strong work in the area of Student-Athlete Mental Health and comes on the heels of her work as part of the FISU World Forum in Zagreb, Croatia this past August that she attended as a United States Representative.
The FISU World Forum is an opportunity for students and officials from international university sports engage in meetings and exchanges associating culture and education with physical and sporting activities.
“Participating in the forum was a humbling experience for me,” said Silver. “I am blessed to have these opportunities and it made me value the chances I get to pursue any dream now.”
The Forum featured over 200 student-athletes from over 60 countries worldwide. Speakers included Olympians and professional athletes on a wide range of topics including sports diplomacy, diversity and inclusion, and gender equality.
Silver said, “Learning about sports diplomacy was eye opening. In many countries, athletes are used as a figure of hope, and are the pinnacle of leadership, determination, and awe, much like a Kobe Bryant or Simone Biles is in the US.”
Among the speakers on diversity and inclusion was Marina Draskovic, a former Olympic Judo athlete for Croatia, who has launched a Judo dojo created to help special needs athletes, specifically those with cerebral palsy. Silver said, “Marina treats the kids in her care like athletes, not para-athletes, and was very serious about encouraging us to think about how truly accepting we are in the sports world. If you only look for the good players, you will miss out on the diamonds in the rough and that is was sports are truly all about.”
“Most importantly,” Silver continued, “she said that in her journey many people said it was a bad idea and she shouldn’t do it, but she had a passion for that population and made it happen. That spoke to me in so many ways, that there will always be naysayers and you can either quit, or watch them fall in line as you succeed and the latter is much more rewarding.”
One of the best parts of the Forum for Silver is the inclusion of small groups, with each collection of athletes, all from different countries, work together throughout their time, and give a presentation toward the end of the week. Her group, which included athletes from Singapore, Slovakia, China and Switzerland, presented on how FISU could better include para-athletes in their educational events.
She said, “The small group time was a great opportunity to learn how to work as a cohesive unit, while planning and creating an important presentation. It was similar to what I experienced in school and on a team, but so much more enriching, getting to hear perspectives from peers coming from different backgrounds. It was eye opening to see and hear different thoughts and feelings on our topic. It was also a great exercise for me in slowing down! Although we all spoke English, it was a third or fourth language for some of them and I really had to take my time so they could understand me.”
The small groups, and the interactions with all of the athletes brought about one of Silver’s biggest takeaways for personal growth. She said, “The biggest thing I learned was that networking isn’t always selfish, which is what I had in my head before. It can be a great tool to give others things they need to succeed. I spoke with many athletes when I was there who wanted to learn how they could start something similar to the student-athlete counseling program we have developed at Bushnell, and I was able to work with them and see what resources they had available and what their next steps could be. It was a really beautiful experience.”
Another critical learning moment came during a dual career workshop. ‘Dual-Career has a different meaning internationally similar to the domestic idea of a student-athlete. In other countries they often have to choose between sport and education, or fight to do both. They don’t have opportunities that are provided by the NCAA or NAIA. Silver said, “We have athletes struggling with mental health here for various reasons and overseas it is even greater. They not only have all the same stressors as student-athletes, but they have the stress of finding sponsors to pay for tournaments and getting visas to compete. There is nothing stopping a professor from failing you for missing class time, so they have to balance even taking the opportunities to play.”
Silver’s passion for athlete mental health is a driving force in her decision to continue with the organization as an Ambassador. She said, “Mental health is not the focus and FISU is just barely starting to bring awareness to it at the games next summer. They are fighting so hard for these athletes to have opportunities that this piece falls through the cracks. I saw many opportunities to not only bring awareness but to help come up with solutions when I was in Croatia. We started to talk about what mental health support for student-athletes internationally would look like, as you can imagine it is a big task. We are starting with bring it to the attention of the National University Sport Federation (NUSF) and establishing a baseline of expectations for those charged with caring for the athletes.”
Sam Silver is a highly decorated double-alumna from Bushnell and a former softball student-athlete, having completed her Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She currently serves as the Director of the Bushnell Counseling Clinic, the Student-Athlete Mental Health Coordinator, and as an assistant coach with the Bushnell softball team. Silver was the recipient of the NAIA’s 2023 Leroy Walker Champions of Character Award, and she is currently pursuing her Associate License for counseling.