Students and faculty from the Institute attended the Midwest Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium on February 20-21, 2009, held at Bowling Green State University. The conference included presentations from students, round-table discussions with prominent faculty members, and student-facilitiated think-tank sessions. In addition, keynote addresses from Dr. Jennifer Waldron (University of Northern Iowa) and Dr. Jane Buckworth (Ohio State University) provided attendees with an educational and insightful experience.
Several students from the Institute presented at the conference as well: Angie Fifer (Personal Meaning, Life Satisfaction, and Motivation in Female Recreational Marathon Runners); Dana Voelker (Captains Leadership Development Program); Ryan Flett (IZOF Model Reduction and Validation During Competition: A Proposal); Moe Machida and Brandon Irwin (Resilience in Individuals with Physical Disabilities: Role of Sport Participation); and Eric Bean, Angie Fifer, and Moe Machida (Association for Applied Sport Psychology[AASP]: Proactive Peer Undergraduate Mentoring Program [PPUMP]). Others in attendance included Dr. Dan Gould, Dr. Marty Ewing, Meredith Whitley, Michael Crawford, and Ye Hoon Lee.
Overall, the conference was a positive environment for students to practice presenting and to meet colleagues with similar interests from other universities. Dana Voelker reflects on her experience: "I felt that Midwest AASP was an excellent way to practice our presentation skills, to acquire feedback on our ongoing research projects, and perhaps most importantly, to network with individuals in our region. The graduate students of today are the researchers and practitioners of our field tomorrow. It was both useful and enjoyable to share our experiences and ideas with other aspiring sport psychology professionals and build relationships with our future colleagues."
