Junior Arden Besecker had an outstanding first season with the Sand Devils in 2024. She earned AVCA Top Flight honors and helped the team to the NCAA Championship for the first time. This summer, Besecker participated in the Big 12 Beyond Borders program, which took student-athletes from all Big 12 institutions to Washington D.C. for a learning experience. Read below as she answers questions about her time there, as well as her first season as a Sun Devil.
What was your experience like at Big 12 Beyond Borders?
My experience was amazing and truly is something I will always remember. All of the student-athletes had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. and fully immerse ourselves in learning about history and visit museums where we were able to learn a lot about the country’s history and how to change the past mistakes. While there, we got to work on a presentation of something we think needs to be addressed and presented to legislative aids on the hill trying to make real change. My topic was climate change and current water quality and quantity in Arizona. This experience taught me so much and I truly feel like I learned so much.
What will you always remember from the trip?
I will always remember our daily experiences of going to museums and then coming together as a group and discussing what we saw and everyone’s thoughts. It was really cool being able to be surrounded by people I hadn’t met before and hearing their experiences and thoughts. It helped me learn more about individuals and experiences.
What did you learn from this experience?
I learned so much. I think my two biggest things are that our country has so much history, and the most important thing is being able to learn it and understand it to hopefully be able to make change and grow. I also learned how to come together with a partner and work towards forming a presentation with real evidence that can make change. With information and knowledge and the resources to be able to present it, I feel I can make a change.
Last month we kicked off our Big 12 Beyond Borders program with a phenomenal group of student-athletes.
These leaders shared culture, history, and community, while also making an impact on Capitol Hill by advocating for issues most important to them.
They return to their… pic.twitter.com/aiDBRQahVY
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference)
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