Psychology has quickly become one of the most meaningful parts of my academic experience at Wesleyan—not just because the material is interesting, but because it connects directly to the kind of leader and coach I hope to become one day. As much as basketball has shaped me physically and competitively, psychology has shaped the way I understand people, motivation, relationships, and the mental side of performance.

Every course I’ve taken so far has given me something real to take with me. In classes on emotion, motivation, and learning, I’ve started to see how players’ behaviors are shaped by more than effort or talent.

I’ve learned about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, the role of mindset, how stress impacts performance, and how important it is for people—especially athletes—to feel supported, understood, and valued. Concepts that I once saw as theories on a page now show up every day in practices, team meetings, and the way we communicate with each other.

When I think about my future, I’ve always pictured myself becoming a head coach. The best coaches I’ve had weren’t great only because they understood X’s and O’s. They were great because they understood people.

They knew how to read emotions, how to help someone reset during a rough stretch, how to motivate different personalities, and how to build trust that lasts longer than a season. Psychology is teaching me how those skills actually work.

Taking these classes has made me more intentional about how I carry myself as a teammate—how I communicate, how I respond to frustration, how I help others feel confident and capable. It makes me excited for the future, because I know I’m building tools now that I’ll lean on for the rest of my life.

Psychology isn’t just a major for me; it’s becoming the bridge between who I am as a player and who I hope to be as a coach.