This August, Dr. Sarah Deck, a postdoctoral fellow will be joining the MHR team. During her fellowship, Sarah will be researching veterans’ experiences attending post-secondary education.
We caught up with Sarah to learn more about her life and research:
GM: Can you tell me a little bit about your academic background?
SD: I went to Gannon University in Erie PA where I did my bachelors in kinesiology with a minor in psychology, followed by completing my Masters of Science at Brock, and my PhD at Western University in Kinesiology Psych Basis.
GM: What are your research interests and how have they evolved throughout your career?
SD: My research interests started in sport psychology, I was particularly interested in how different members of a sports organization interact with each other (teammates, coaches, trainers, etc.) and how these interactions may influence things such as motivation and emotion. This later developed into other interests beyond organized sport, including exploring the impact of participation in exercise and different health behaviours on peoples’ actions and interactions with each other. My overall passion is to improve well-being of individuals physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. I am especially interested in special populations that may be overlooked.
GM: That’s really interesting! Can you tell me a little bit about the research you will be doing with MHR in the coming months?
SD: I will be working on research on veterans in post-secondary education – how these veterans feels supported (or not) by these institutions and how this relates to different health variables including happiness and sense of meaning in life.
GM: What led you to pursue your current work?
SD: I want to help improve lives of vulnerable populations as well as being able to diversify and work with different people with different interests.
GM: That’s great. We are excited to have you on the team! Enough about work – what are your interests outside of work and research?
SD: I am an avid runner and sport enthusiast. Most weekends are spent outside with my dog hiking or swimming. I really enjoy reading non-fiction books (i.e., Malcom Gladwell).
GM: And finally, to wrap up, can you tell me one fun fact about yourself?
SD: I went on a scholarship for soccer to the united states.
You can read more about Sarah in the About section of our website!