JERSEY CITY, NJ – Life as a student-athlete can be demanding. Classes, practice, meets, study hall hours and rest take up a large chunk of time and leave little room for much else. Add on to that the role of running multiple organizations, and you get a glimpse into the life of Chase Adia Ledbetter.
Despite the challenges and time-demanding responsibilities that come with these roles, Ledbetter has found a way to manage all of the above and then some. Ledbetter, a criminal justice major currently in her junior year at Saint Peter's University, is a member of the Peacocks women's track and field team, and she is also the president of the Black Action Committee (BAC) on the Jersey City campus.
The BAC is an on-campus organization that highlights different struggles, issues, and topics in the African American and black communities around the world. The committee hosts a plethora of events on campus for students, ranging from fun on-campus parties to promotional events to educational events like conferences, symposiums, and panel discussions. Most recently, for Black History Month, BAC hosted an Art Show for the first time, which was facilitated by Ledbetter.
"The Art Show was our first time doing an event like this," said Ledbetter. "We wanted to do something different that could include everybody in the university because people have different hobbies and talents. It was a pretty good turnout; we had a lot of people show up and it was better than we actually expected. All of the people who were in the Art Show were Saint Peter's students, and we also had one alumni and one outside person."
BAC also recently hosted a Movement open mic event for the third time, where people came out and showcased their talents.
When Ledbetter isn't running the BAC, she is dedicating her time to one of the many other organizations she is part of. In addition to being president of the BAC, Ledbetter is also the vice president of Protecting and Respecting Individuality Diversity and Equality (PRIDE), a member of Alpha Phi Sigma (National Criminal Justice Honor Society), Alpha Sigma Phi (National Society for Leadership and Success), and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
"I have no social life, so that is how I get it all done," Ledbetter jokingly answered when asked about how she balances all of her responsibilities. "I go to practice in the morning, then classes, then meetings, then assignments and papers, and repeat it all the next day pretty much."
Despite taking on so many taxing roles, Ledbetter has found success in the classroom and on the playing field. In the classroom, she boasts one of the top GPAs on the track and field team and was recently named to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) All-Academic Team. On the field, Ledbetter has led the Peacocks in the shot put this season, pacing the team in every meet so far during the indoor track season. At the NYC Gotham Cup in mid-January, she finished 16th overall out of over 40 competitors in the event. At the Lehigh Open, Ledbetter placed eighth in shot put and had the best field performance for the women at METS.
When asked about being an African American female athlete at Saint Peter's, Ledbetter responded, "Saint Peter's is extremely diverse, so it is common here. It's not like a different college or university where you might feel like an outsider or like you don't fit in. We fit in pretty well here and we pretty much all relate to the same struggles. The only real struggle is juggling being a student, an athlete, and being a member of so many organizations and an organization leader."
"I think it is good to always remember that intersectionality is important," Ledbetter mentioned in closing. "Highlighting every aspect of your person, so for me, I am an athlete and a student and I am a black person in America, so I feel that being all of those is very important."
