The Spiders Performance and Development Program kicked off its Leadership Initiative for the 2022-23 year as University of Richmond alum and Spider football standout Tim Hightower delivered the keynote address to the program's rising and champion leaders at the Queally Admissions Center Tuesday night.
"Our leadership kickoff event is a tremendous opportunity to celebrate our Rising and Champion leaders from each team," Senior Associate Athletic Director Lauren Wicklund said. "We are thankful to Tim Hightower for coming "home" and sharing his leadership lessons and journey with us in such a meaningful way. It was a great night to be a Spider!"
Hightower was a Spider football letterwinner from 2004-07 and is the program's all-time leading rusher with 3,712 yards on the ground. He was an All-America selection as a senior in 2007 when he was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, given to the top offensive player in NCAA FCS (then NCAA Division I-AA) football.
Hightower was drafted into the National Football League by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played seven seasons in the NFL, spending time with Arizona, Washington and New Orleans. He missed four years of football due to injuries before returning to the Saints in 2015 – in an ultimate show of perseverance.
Hightower spoke to the group about the role of leaders in life and as part of a team. He discussed the importance of setting goals, writing them down and not being deterred when it got tough. He shared stories from his life as a Richmond Spider, an NFL football running back and life after sports.
The Spider Leadership Initiative works to build champion leaders that successfully lead themselves, their teams, and the community. Through curiosity, resilience, ownership, communication, and problem solving, our student-athletes will become engaged, global citizens with the skills and fortitude to positively transform the world.
Original source can be found here.
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