Former Olympian to speak about mental health April 19

Waite has more than a decade of experience working with and studying elite performers. She serves as the Chair for USA Track and Field Sport Psychology Subcommittee where she connects Olympic athletes to sport psychology and provides them with mental health resources. As a member of the subcommittee, she provides consultation for athletes and coaches. She is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant, a member of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Sport Psychology Registry, and an active member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.

Prior to Waite’s professional career in sport psychology, she was an NCAA All-American at Rice University. She competed professionally as a track athlete for nine years in the 3,000 meter steeplechase for Great Britain and Scotland. She represented Great Britain in the 2016 Summer Olympics, the 2014 European Championships, 2017 World Championships, and multiple European Team Championship events.

Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences Dr. Grant Sasse said Waite’s perspective on mental health is valuable.

“Dr. Waite is an excellent person to give a talk on athletes’ mental health,” Sasse said. “She not only has the practical experience to speak on the issue, as a former Olympian, but she continues to work in this area. As the director of Applied Sports and Performance Psychology at the University of St. Thomas Houston, she is training her graduate students on mental skills training and sport performance consultation with student-athletes on her campus.”

While pursuing professional athletics, Waite completed her doctorate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, where her research focused on topics including performance maximization, team dynamics, personality, and motivation.

As an Assistant Professor of Psychology, while also working as a Sport Psychology Consultant, Waite interacts with a wide range of athletes.

“I am constantly interacting with a wide variety of athletes of varying abilities,” Waite said on her website. “My contact with high school, collegiate, professional, recreational, and master’s athletes provides me with a wide audience to share my personal running history, performance knowledge, and passion for the sport with.”

Chadron State College’s Health, Physical Education, and Recreation department partnered with the Counseling department, as well as  the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska to sponsor Waite’s speech. For more information, contact Dr. Tara Wilson at 308-432-6043 or twilson@csc.edu.

—Molly Langhorst