WASHINGTON D.C. — Student-athletes are increasingly moving beyond their sports to become active participants in the democratic process. At the forefront of this movement is "The Team," a nonprofit organization dedicated to integrating nonpartisan civic engagement into college athletics.
Elise Byun, the program coordinator for The Team and a former varsity gymnast at UC Berkeley, recently shared her journey from participant to mentor within the organization’s Engage Athlete Fellowship.
- YouTube youtu.be
The Team’s mission is centered on developing teammates, inspiring leaders, and empowering citizens by making civic involvement accessible and team-centered. For Byun, seeing this mission in action means watching the "next generation" of athletes take up the mantle of leadership on their own campuses.
"I think it's really cool to see the next generation really inspired and really just take that upon their mission to also inspire their teammates, their other fellow athletes at their university, and just try to make a difference on the campus level," Byun said.
The Engage Athlete Fellowship is a year-long program that brings together roughly 25-30 student-athletes from across all NCAA divisions. Each fellow designs a custom project tailored to their interests, ranging from voter engagement to mental health awareness. During her time as a fellow, Byun focused her project on "inspiring" and "mobilizing" the Berkeley community. This included hosting panels with local change-makers and organizing "Adopt a Week" recess support at local elementary schools.
"I found that as student-athletes, we need to show up for the community that shows up for us," Byun explained. "Every single weekend, fans come out, support us at our games, cheer us on, and I think as student-athletes, we should serve the community that serves us".
Byun’s commitment to advocacy was sparked by personal challenges during her athletic career, including two Achilles tendon injuries. These setbacks forced her to find her identity outside of the gym, leading her to leadership roles in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the Pac-12 leadership team.
"I realized I really loved the advocacy portion of a lot of what I was doing, and that helped me find my ties to the team also around civic engagement," Byun noted.
The fellowship culminates in the Engage Athlete Forum in Washington, D.C., where athletes connect with professionals across various fields, from tech to sports, who link civic engagement to their careers.
"You bring such like-minded people in one place," Byun said of the event. "I leave the forum every single year of just feeling so inspired and so motivated to go out there and make change."
The Team is currently accepting applications for its fourth fellowship cohort for the 2026-2027 academic year.
Hugo Balta is the executive editor of The Fulcrum and the publisher of the Latino News Network.
