Finding the Fun: Tabor Academy Hosts 4th Annual ISL Changemakers Conference

Nearly 150 Independent School League (ISL) student-athletes, coaches, athletic directors, and diversity directors, gathered at Tabor on Monday, October 6 for the 2025 ISL Changemakers Conference. 

Now in its fourth year, the annual Changemakers Conference is a partnership between ISL athletic directors and diversity directors, designed to empower student-athletes, enhance leadership skills, and foster an environment of inclusion, athletic leadership, and social responsibility. 

This year’s theme was, “Have Fun First, Find Yourself Later,” focusing on the critical nature of playing for fun and building connections with teammates rather than solely on using team sports as a means to an end. Students spent the day participating in student-led workshops, engaging in discussions with their peers, hearing from athletic and diversity directors, sharing meals, and competing in a friendly game of dodgeball. 

The day-long conference opened with an introduction by Tabor’s Head of School Tony Jacacci and a keynote address by Tabor alum Cassidy Yeomans ’22. Ms. Yeomans is currently a senior at Bentley University and captain of the Bentley Women’s Basketball team. Her discussion centered on the impact that her time as a student-athlete had on her and how the lessons she learned have carried forward into her collegiate career and personal life beyond Tabor. 

She remarks, “I wanted to share that success isn’t defined by one championship or one season, but by the lessons, relationships, and growth that come along the way. I talked about consistency, mindset, and the importance of knowing you’re more than your sport because those were lessons that carried me from Tabor to Bentley and beyond. It was surreal to look out and see student-athletes in the same seats I once sat in, knowing how much potential and possibility lives in that room.” 

Dario Spoljaric ’26, one of a team of fifteen Tabor students responsible for planning and coordinating the event, notes that hosting the event at Tabor highlights just how much Tabor values a well-rounded athletic program. “We don’t just say it, we do it. It’s not just about winning or losing. We care about what goes into being an athlete and how beneficial athletics are for both physical and mental health,” he says. 

When the planning process for the conference began over the summer, the team knew that they wanted the day to be impactful, memorable, and “action focused.” Workshops were designed to be all inclusive and engaging. Athletic directors, diversity directors, and coaches learned alongside their student-athletes, and each session incorporated an activity related to the topic of discussion. 

Kelly Walker, Tabor’s Athletic Director and RoseMarie Wallace, Tabor’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging, note that this was the first time in the four years of this event that students took the lead with adults playing a supporting role. “Our students stepped up and decided that they wanted to be in charge of the workshops and our kids, led by Dario Spoljaric, did an amazing job. The feedback I received from fellow ISL athletic directors was impressive. They loved the event and they loved our kids' energy, impact, and enthusiasm,” remarks Walker.  

Spoljaric reflects that the success of the event relied, in part, on collaboration and avoiding overthinking and micromanaging. “It needed to be from the heart and we needed to trust the session leaders to do their thing. The workshop topics were planned in advance, but once we handed them off to their group leaders they were able to run with it and make it their own.”  

Workshops covered a wide range of topics including:  

• Pressure to Perform: Balancing Sports, School, and Stress 
• Rivalry & Respect: The DEB Behind the Competition 
• Captains, Coaches, & Cliques: Building Team Culture 
• What We Wear, What We Carry: Uniforms, Gear, & Representation 
• Beyond the Scoreboard: Defining Success in Sports 
• Playing Together, Growing Together: Shaping Equity in Our League 
• Time to Warm Up: Unequal Starts in School Sports 
• Faith, Fuel, & Fair Play: Supporting Athletes During Religious Observances 

Each session was designed and led by a team of students and included time for learning, discussion, and an interactive element. For instance, Captains, Coaches & Cliques: Building Team Culture, led by Lily Davis '28 and Darian Hockney '28 focused on unpacking what healthy leadership looks like, how to deal with cliques or favoritism, and how every player can impact team culture. It included a game of telephone to highlight the importance of communication within a team. Rivalry & Respect: The DEB Behind the Competition, led by Angelica Smith '27 and Corrine Lomax '27, featured a relay race and explored the history of athletic rivalries through the lens of diversity, equity, and belonging, and examined how rivalries can elevate rather than divide.  
 
Spoljaric hopes that every athlete, every coach, and every team in attendance left the conference with a sense of unity, purpose, and joy. Exchanging ideas, challenging perspectives, and finding inspiration in one another, in a celebration of diversity and leadership, certainly reaffirmed the importance of remembering to “Have Fun First, Find Yourself Later.”