Outstanding Alumni

May 2019 Spotlight: Scott Graupensperger

A 2016 graduate of the M.A. in Developmental Psychology and M.Ed. Kinesiology programs, Scott Graupensperger has seen much success. Read below to learn about him and see what he has been up to since leaving BGSU.

Hometown: Bend, Oregon

Undergraduate Program: Psychology – Northern Arizona University

Graduate Program: BGSU: Psychology M.A. & Kinesiology, M.Ed. Penn State: Dual-title PhD in Kinesiology and Clinical & Translational Science.

Graduate Assistantship(s): At BGSU I was always funded through the Psychology department on teaching and research assistantships. At Penn State I have been funded mostly through predoctoral fellowships from the National Institutes of Health: TL1-award from the National Center for the Advancement of Clinical & Translational Science, and currently on a T32-award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Prevention and Methodology Training).

Why Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies: I joined the school of HMSLS to pursue further training in kinesiology, and for the opportunity to work with Dr. Krane. This program provided a strong foundation in research methods alongside rich opportunities for applied training, such as working with BGSU Student Athletes in performance consultant roles.

Current job: I am currently a doctoral candidate at The Pennsylvania State University, where I am pursuing a dual-title PhD in Kinesiology and Clinical and Translational Science. My dissertation research line examines social influences within collegiate sport teams, with a particular focus on better understanding conformity and adherence to team norms around health-risk behaviors (e.g., alcohol misuse). This research line is funded by the NCAA, the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA), as well as by the National Institutes of Health. In one study, now published in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, we used a manipulation paradigm to identify which types of athletes are more susceptible to peer influence pertaining to health-risk behaviors.