The Emory University community often recognizes student-athletes for their achievements in their respective sports, however, their ability to balance academics and extracurricular activities goes unnoticed. Many Emory student-athletes positively shape their communities through community service and stepping up to create new spaces of belonging.
Outside the water, senior swimmer Adam Braunschweig has dedicated time and effort toward bettering his community in Atlanta. Braunschweig grew up participating in community service work through his church, and his parents’ support combined with his faith motivated him to continue giving back to communities at and around Emory. In the future, he hopes to attend medical school, inspired by some of his previous service experiences both in Atlanta and abroad.
Braunschweig got his start as a community volunteer as a freshman in the fall of 2021. After joining Emory’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Braunschweig quickly adopted a leadership role and has since risen to become the group’s treasurer. He also led community service and outreach initiatives, which brought him to Frontline Response, a Christian-based nonprofit organization in Atlanta that supports at-risk populations such as victims of sex trafficking, those experiencing homelessness and children in vulnerable situations. Braunschweig has combined his passions by bringing FCA members to Frontline in hopes of providing resources to such underprivileged populations.
“We distribute different resources to homeless people, whether that’s giving them food [or] information to get to the Frontline shelter, because when it was super cold in January, we would do events where we would house them, provide them food, warm clothes, stuff like that,” Braunschweig said. “For the sex trafficking, what we do is we give them a rose with a card and a number to a hotline number so that they can call for help.”
Growing up in Hartland, Wisconsin, Braunschweig said he had previously not been exposed to the economic difficulties that plague large urban centers like Atlanta. Braunschweig credited a medical mission trip to Guatemala for introducing him to global issues and cementing his aspiration to become a doctor.
“I never would have thought I would have gone somewhere else in the world and see the impact I could have on someone immediately through healthcare,” Braunschweig said. “That was something that was really impactful.”
Braunschweig’s teammates also noted his diligent work inside and outside of the pool. Senior swimmer Davis Shelton mentioned that Braunschweig’s dedication has always stood out, especially in his choice to do medical service work in Guatemala during his spring break sophomore year.
“The thing that jumps out [to] me about this is we had a lot of people in our class who were on vacation or went to visit their family or went abroad, and he was like, ‘No, I'm going to go do medical service, I'm going to go help those people,’” Shelton said. “That was very formative for him and speaks to the way he will go out of his … way to help those around him.”
Braunschweig noted the impacts of these experiences not only on his personal outlook but also on his athletic performance and attitude after visiting Guatemala and giving back to the Atlanta community.
“That was when something clicked, and I was able to invigorate a spark and know that I could help induce the same feeling in my teammates,” Braunschweig said. “I was able to see much more flourishing relationships but also build up other people's confidence in the same way that I was able to see my confidence and my independence grow through community service.”
Over the last four years swimming together, Shelton has witnessed Braunschweig find and pursue his goals.
“One thing about Adam is that he's really found his passions and not only has he found his passions, but he's grown confident in his passions,” Shelton said. “When he sets his eyes on something, he's gonna do it to 110%, and that's one thing that I really respect about him.”
As co-founder and former president of the Black Student-Athlete Group (BSAG), senior track and field athlete Geoff Point-du-Jour deeply integrated community engagement into his time at Emory. Other schools within the University Athletic Association conference inspired Point-du-Jour to establish a Black student-athlete community at Emory.
“My overall vision of it was to bring the community together,” Point-du-Jour said. “Although Emory athletics is so small, we will see a lot of each other in passing, but we don't really talk or know each other. So to create a network and create a community, that was my main goal when starting the organization.”
In addition to creating a community of athletes, BSAG serves as a place for people to embrace their shared identity. Freshman jumper Jason Bright, one of Point-du-Jour’s teammates and a current BSAG executive board member, said the group creates a space where members can be authentic versions of themselves.
“It's always a safe space where you can just be yourself,” Bright said. “That's one of the things that Geoff created that was a core value to BSAG — just go there to be yourself because we're the minority and this is the one space where we're all together in similar experiences.”
Additionally, Point-du-Jour created BSAG with the hope that Black student-athletes would use the community as a resource. The group provides Black student-athletes with advice and guidance throughout their time in college and as they transition into their careers. Since the club’s inception, BSAG has developed a strong alumni network to help current student-athletes with their professional development.
“Being able to have an easy contact saying, ‘Hey, I'm thinking about going to law school. Do you have any leftover study materials? Do you have any advice for applications?’ Things like that is why it's very important to have these communities, because sometimes that might not be found on your team or even found at Emory in general,” Point-du-Jour said.
Bright said Point-du-Jour has helped his transition into college and called him a role model.
“I could tell he was going to be a teammate for me that not only that I'm very chill with, but also someone I look up to because he is a senior and he’s about to graduate,” Bright said. “We're looking at similar fields, what we want to do outside of Emory … and he's just helped me through that.”
Senior sprinter Kaya Binetti takes off from the blocks at a track meet.
Like Braunschweig and Point-du-Joir, track and field sprinter Kaya Binetti took charge and created the Emory Women in Sports Club, a place for athletes and non-athletes alike to navigate careers in the sports industry. Binetti said she solidified her own desire to pursue a sports career after interning with the New York Jets last summer. After hearing about the NFL Women’s Forum, a networking event she would later attend, Binetti had the idea to create a female collective club at Emory during her junior year.
“If I have the ability [to] connect other women with industry professionals and jumpstart our careers, but also to create a community to empower one another and grow together and navigate the sports world together, I thought that would be a really amazing concept,” Binetti said.
Sophomore track and field athlete Hannah Riley, Binetti’s teammate, said Emory Women in Sports is a valuable place for people to connect around athletics without feeling pressure to compete.
“That is so incredibly important to have spaces where we can still be athletes and be interested in athletics, but not everything we do is surrounded by our performance in athletics,” Riley said.
Because the club is open to women across the student body, many members have unique goals within the broad range of potential career fields in sports. Binetti said the club has hosted speakers from various sectors in the sports industry to help members better understand different career paths, in addition to facilitating networking opportunities.
“When you hear about other people's journeys and you hear about what they actually do in their career, it helps you learn that there's so much out there,” Binetti said.
Riley said that Binetti has embraced her leadership role in the club and on the track team.
“She's just very good at encouraging and offering advice when it's definitely needed,” Riley said. “She's always asked me how I'm feeling and what she can do to help me and just offering her support.”
After connecting with Connie Carberg, the first female scout in NFL history and Sam Rapoport, a senior executive at the NFL and creator of the NFL Women’s Forum, Binetti said she is ready to jump into the sports world with the guidance of industry professionals. She added that she hopes to follow in Rapoport and Carberg’s footsteps and support other women who want to build their own careers in sports.
“I know how difficult the sports world is to navigate, and it's really, really hard to get your foot in the door and get that first role,” Binetti said. “[I] know how grateful I've been to those people who are willing to speak with me and how much it's changed my life, so I just want to be someone that other women can use as a resource.”
For Braunschweig, Point-du-Jour and Binetti, giving back to their communities and creating supportive spaces for others has been a meaningful part of their student-athlete experience. While each of them has already made their mark on the Emory community, they encourage others to consider making their own impact during their time in college.
“See what you want to get involved in and things that are important to you,” Braunschweig said. “You're going to be most impactful in what you care about the most, and so letting your passion drive what you do is essential.”
