Smith is in the middle of her second year as the UC Irvine Director of Athletics and has 30 years of experience in intercollegiate athletic administration, 15 of those as an Anteater. 

She is one of 10 female athletic directors of color in the country and is a member of the Black Athletic Director Alliance.   

The Alliance, which is made up of approximately 50 black athletic directors, was formed last summer with the purpose to create growth, development and opportunities for Blacks at administrative levels within Division I Athletic departments.  

UCIrvinesports.com talked with Smith about the importance of serving others. 

Talk about your role in the Alliance and the responsibility of mentoring. 

I see my role as a means in supporting the purpose of the Alliance through identifying individuals who aspire for careers in the industry and providing support and guidance, sharing information on resources such as professional development opportunities, and to use connections and network to open doors for career advancement.   

My responsibility in mentoring is active engagement and building relationships.  It's important to have trust and respect and to create ongoing and a consistent connection with a mentee.  In mentoring, one should help a mentee with personal development and professional growth.  When someone calls for an informational interview or asks about your career path, you find the time to take that call or meeting.  When someone is asking for assistance, you find the way, however small or large, to assist.  I find the best course of action as a role model is to act as a guide and point the individual in the right direction for resources.  If I had to pick two things I thought were critical in being a mentor, it would be listening and commitment. Listening is the ingredient to establishing communication and building a relationship. And commitment, for me, is a pledge to pay it forward providing opportunities for mentees to succeed.

What does the Minority Opportunity and Interest Committee you served on strive to achieve? 

MOIC's goal is to create a culture that promotes fair and equitable access to opportunities and resources. This entails reviewing governance structure and rules relating to interest and advocacy of student-athletes, coaches and administrators of ethnic minorities, LGBTQ and disabilities, as well as advocacy for programming and policies that affected a variety of diverse individuals and communities. My involvement started with an internship with the Big West Conference. The internship was geared to minorities and women in sports. I was grateful for the internship that launched my career in sports and serving on the committee was my way of giving back. 

How important is it to share stories during Black History Month, spotlighting the role that people and events have played in shaping our history and community?   

It is important to share stories for a couple of reasons, but not limited to, continuing to enlighten oneself and others of history and the role we played in shaping it, to present images for young people to see themselves in and to keep hopes and dreams alive. The ability to motivate, even passively, that a future exists for a better life, even ones that perhaps was not within minds-eye, IS achievable.  Hard work and persistence (and sometimes luck) will get you there for a better life, but it all starts with the DREAM.