By Nick Alayna
Staff Writer
What made you decide to teach at Rochester?
“I have lived in Shelby Township most of my life and taught high school nearby at Eisenhower. Dealing with university students was more of a calling to me. I teach psychology here at RU, and helping the students' minds is much more than just teaching.”
What made you want to be a mindset coach?
“I do believe that wrestling is the most mentally damaging sport. I have wrestled my entire life and traveled the world doing so. I think that athletics focuses much more on the mental than the physical and helping students reach their full mental capability is very important to me. Working on the mindset of these young students is what I believe I can do best.“
What made psychology and the mind something you wanted to help students with?
“I have always had a calling to psychology. I have my Ph.D. in psychology so I can understand more than most about the mind of all ages. I know how much I struggled as a teenager and wish I had that kind of assistance.“
What advice do you have for students and athletes struggling with mental health while enrolled in college?
“I always say there are 22 voices in your head, you need to learn to silence those negative voices and embrace the ones that want you to succeed.”