Student Spotlight: Taleigh Sheppard

Representing Section IV on the New York State Student Athletic Advisory Committee

 

Moravia CSD student-athlete Taleigh Sheppard has been selected to represent Section IV on the New York State Student Athletic Advisory Committee.

A three-season varsity athlete, Taleigh competes in Varsity Cross Country, Varsity Indoor Track & Field, and Varsity Softball. Her experience across multiple sports gives her a unique perspective on the student-athlete experience, from training and competition to teamwork, pressure, mental health, and school spirit.

 

We sat down with Taleigh to talk about the opportunity, the issues she hopes to bring forward, and what she wants to accomplish both across New York State and here at Moravia.

 

Q: How excited are you to represent Section IV on the New York State Student Athletic Advisory Committee? What does this opportunity mean to you?

Taleigh: I’m super excited to represent Section IV as an athlete myself. It means I can speak out about my opinions when I need to, but also speak out for other student-athletes around me who have their own problems and issues that come up in sports and the athletic community.

Q: What are some of the biggest issues you believe need to be brought to the state level?

Taleigh: Mental health awareness is a big one for me. The mental part of the game and championships can be really heavy on an athlete. You see it from personal experience, from other athletes on the field, and even through TV and social media. It has a very big impact on athletes, and I think there needs to be more awareness.

Q: Is there a specific part of mental health in athletics that you want to focus on?

Taleigh: The whole athlete, but especially knowing that you can take breaks. You need a break from time to time. You can’t just go full force at 100 percent all the time. Athletes need to know that taking time to rest is okay.

Q: Are there other issues that are important to you?

Taleigh: Respect for officials. Knowing that they are humans too. They’re there to make sure the sport goes smoothly, and they’re going to make mistakes. Mistakes happen. Athletes need to remember to respect them.

Q: What does it mean to you to represent not only Moravia, but an entire section of New York State?

Taleigh: It’s definitely a new type of experience for me. I’ve gone from being part of Section IV to being at this much bigger level. It’s a very new experience, and I’m excited because I get to speak out more. Knowing that I can speak out about these things, I think I can help other people and help athletics as a whole.

Q: You’ll be working with student-athletes from all over New York State. What are you hoping to learn from them?

Taleigh: I’m really hoping to learn about their feelings and opinions about their own sports and other sports, and their opinions on different topics in the athletic community. I’m excited to make new friends and learn about other people’s experiences.

Q: When your time on the committee is over, what impact do you hope you’ve made?

Taleigh: One impact I hope to make is a change in perspective for a lot of student-athletes. If you have somebody representing those changes, opinions and expectations that should be throughout the whole community, that can be brought down to other generations and even youth sports.

I want athletes to know that they can have their own opinions and that their voices matter.

Q: What are some of your goals for Moravia athletics?

Taleigh: Internally, I hope to help build Moravia back up. A big thing I hear from a lot of athletes is that they want to get their school spirit back. We want to get that Moravia back. The Go Blue Devils, Blue Devil Nation, Motown type of feeling.

I want to help put us back on the map and make Moravia a school that is known across New York.

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One Voice. One Section. One Blue Devil.

As a three-season varsity athlete and now a representative for Section IV at the state level, Taleigh is bringing the perspective of a student who understands the athletic experience from multiple sides of the playing field.

She’s ready to listen, learn, speak up, and represent.

Congratulations, Taleigh! Moravia is proud to have you representing Section IV and the Blue Devils at the state level.