When I walk out onto the field with Dubs at the start of each Husky football game I can actually feel my heart’s beat begin to accelerate and strengthen in anticipation. Dubs quickly becomes animated too, pulling and jumping on his leash as we stand watching the football team crowd and push each other in the mouth of the tunnel behind us. I use all of my best dog handling skills to try and keep him calm and focused on me. This is the hardest and most intimidating part of my job as a mascot handler; if we have bad start we can throw off the timing of the run for the whole team and losing your footing (in front of hundreds of people, cameras and the jumbo-tron) is all too easy when an 80 pound dog jumps into a full sprint when you’re not ready for it. Much like these nerve-wracking first moments on the field with Dubs, the start of my college career at the UW was extremely intimidating. Faced with harder classes, new social groups, longer papers and a new sense of independence, I was using every academic and social skill I had learned in high school. Even with that experience to back me up, I was nervous. I had a general idea of what I wanted to learn and the things I wanted to do, but the prospect of catastrophic failure was difficult to ignore.
When the football team charges out of the tunnel Dubs and I take off sprinting down the field. It is an exhilarating moment, my arms and legs pumping faster than I realize they ever could with the cheers of hundreds of people roaring in my ears. My feet seem to skim off the ground, only touching the turf for balance as Dubs pulls me forward with all his strength. Minus the adrenaline, my academic takeoff at the UW inspired a similar rushing excitement. I took an Introduction to Psychology course my second quarter, and it was the first lecture that really engaged me in what I was learning. Although we were discussing only foundational concepts I was fascinated by the psychological studies we discussed and the insights they gave me into my own life experiences. The following quarter I took Honors 222: Marine Oil Spills and ended the course with my first college research paper on the psychological effects of oil spills. I was thrilled to be able to use my interest in psychology to engage in a topic as random as oil spills. I began to see psychology as a tool to explore the human-centric side of any disciplines. With an appreciation for the flexibility that psychology provides, I made the decision to try and find a way to integrate my new academic interests with my passion for working with horses. I discovered the field of equine facilitated psychotherapy (EFP) and jumped into a headlong sprint pursuing my dream job. In the following two years I applied to and was accepted to the psychology major, began an internship and was later hired at a therapy center, began weekly shadowing with an EFP therapist and designed and executed a psychology honors research study on horse behavior. I was moving through college and my preparations for my future career at a breathlessly fast pace.
A lot of the time I am surprised when Dubs and I reach the posts of the field goals. My mind, consumed with adrenaline, rarely remembers the details of the actual run. I am breathing heavily, my heart racing but invigorated, ready to jog back down the field to the welcoming cheers of the Dawg Pack. As my time at the UW draws a close I feel much like I do when I breathlessly reach the end zone with Dubs. First of all, I’m tired. Juggling internships, research, school and a job has been exhausting. I always tell people my life is very busy, but I can’t complain because it is full of things I love to do. So while I’m tired, I’m not burned out. I’m excited and ready to head to my next challenge, graduate school, in preparation for receiving my license as a therapist. We’ll see how everything goes…hopefully there will be cheering when I get there.
When the football team charges out of the tunnel Dubs and I take off sprinting down the field. It is an exhilarating moment, my arms and legs pumping faster than I realize they ever could with the cheers of hundreds of people roaring in my ears. My feet seem to skim off the ground, only touching the turf for balance as Dubs pulls me forward with all his strength. Minus the adrenaline, my academic takeoff at the UW inspired a similar rushing excitement. I took an Introduction to Psychology course my second quarter, and it was the first lecture that really engaged me in what I was learning. Although we were discussing only foundational concepts I was fascinated by the psychological studies we discussed and the insights they gave me into my own life experiences. The following quarter I took Honors 222: Marine Oil Spills and ended the course with my first college research paper on the psychological effects of oil spills. I was thrilled to be able to use my interest in psychology to engage in a topic as random as oil spills. I began to see psychology as a tool to explore the human-centric side of any disciplines. With an appreciation for the flexibility that psychology provides, I made the decision to try and find a way to integrate my new academic interests with my passion for working with horses. I discovered the field of equine facilitated psychotherapy (EFP) and jumped into a headlong sprint pursuing my dream job. In the following two years I applied to and was accepted to the psychology major, began an internship and was later hired at a therapy center, began weekly shadowing with an EFP therapist and designed and executed a psychology honors research study on horse behavior. I was moving through college and my preparations for my future career at a breathlessly fast pace.
A lot of the time I am surprised when Dubs and I reach the posts of the field goals. My mind, consumed with adrenaline, rarely remembers the details of the actual run. I am breathing heavily, my heart racing but invigorated, ready to jog back down the field to the welcoming cheers of the Dawg Pack. As my time at the UW draws a close I feel much like I do when I breathlessly reach the end zone with Dubs. First of all, I’m tired. Juggling internships, research, school and a job has been exhausting. I always tell people my life is very busy, but I can’t complain because it is full of things I love to do. So while I’m tired, I’m not burned out. I’m excited and ready to head to my next challenge, graduate school, in preparation for receiving my license as a therapist. We’ll see how everything goes…hopefully there will be cheering when I get there.