SIUE Exercise and Sport Psychology Students Receive AASP Awards
A crucial part of a graduate student’s collegiate journey includes participating in opportunities that enhance academic development and career preparedness.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville exercise and sport psychology graduate students are benefitting from such an opportunity at the national level. Alyssa Lowe, of Mt. Zion, and Kimberly Ferner, of Wayne, NJ, are among 20 in the nation to receive an Abstract Award from the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Foundation.
Abstract Awards are offered by the AASP Foundation with the purpose of recognizing outstanding work in sport psychology, while providing students with a chance to present their work in a conference setting. Lowe and Ferner will present their research during the AASP 35th Annual Conference being held virtually Oct. 21-24.
“AASP is the largest Sport Psychology Conference in North America,” said Lindsay Ross-Stewart, PhD, graduate program director and associate professor of exercise and sport psychology in the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior’s Department of Applied Health. “Our program had 12 students whose work was accepted, which is a great achievement. On top of that, to have two of our students honored in this way is a testament to the work all our graduate students are doing to excel in the field.
“The October conference is an excellent opportunity for students to learn more about the field and demonstrate their knowledge. This support for Kim and Alyssa will serve to further enhance their experience.”
Lowe’s abstract, “Development of Mental Training Manuals to Teach the Scientific-Practitioner Model in Sport Psychology Graduate Students,” focused on the obstacles facing graduate students to get involved in practical experiential work. Throughout this project, she worked with Ross-Stewart, Ferner and six other classmates, including Cameron Pryor, Courtney Kendrick, Savana Robinson, Patrick Scipio, Harben Branco Filho and Maria Ogata Negri da Silva.
“I am both surprised and deeply honored to be chosen as one of 20 graduate students to receive this award,” said Lowe. “I am grateful for this award, which is an excellent morale-booster that will encourage me to continue doing my best work. I am also appreciative of my classmates and Dr. Ross-Stewart for their time and effort during the process.”
After graduation, Lowe hopes to transfer her leadership, fundraising, communication, marketing and mental health expertise to a non-profit organization.
“I am fascinated by child development, and how exercise and sport psychology have positive impacts on young children,” she said. “Ultimately, I have an interest in mentoring children, while teaching the tools to make positive choices for a healthy body and mind.”
Ferner utilized a project previously implemented by Ross-Stewart that taught coach education through podcasts. Her abstract, “Using Podcasts for Coach Professional Development,” discussed the positives of the coach education podcast project in detail.
“I’m happy that our abstract caught the attention of judges, and feel good going into the conference knowing our abstract is one of the best,” said Ferner. “This is my first AASP conference, which is exciting and nerve wracking.”
After finishing her master’s, Ferner hopes to earn her doctorate in clinical or counseling psychology. She later hopes to work as a sport psychologist for college athletes and teach at the college level.
Photo: SIUE graduate students (L-R) Kimberly Ferner and Alyssa Lowe will present their research during the Association for Applied Sport Psychology’s virtual conference in October.
