Ella Kitchens, Asst. News Editor–
Graduated student athlete Dr. Lauren Secaras returned to the university as a professor in the Health, Exercise, and Sport Studies (HESS) department
During her undergraduate career at Denison, played first base and pitched for the softball team.
“Her offense, or her hitting, was possibly the strongest part of her game,” said softball coach Tiffany Ozbun.
Secaras, a 2018 graduate, was the NCAC Player of the Year as a senior and holds program records for most RBI and total bases and is tied for first in home runs.
She first discovered Denison when she visited during October of her senior year of high school, where both the academic and athletic environment stood out to her. In softball, she was attracted to the ability to play every part of the game. While she loved hitting as a high school athlete, she wanted a college where she could do more than one thing.
“Some schools are more interested in just certain parts of your game,” Secaras said. “I was looking for a team that really used their player strengths in full and wasn’t going to say, you know, ‘you’re just a pitcher.’ Here, you’re able to play more of the game. Over the entire four years, I really did get to do a bit of everything, which is exactly what I wanted.”
As a student-athlete double majoring in psychology and communications, Secaras juggled responsibilities on and off the field. She was also a team captain.
“Lead by example was definitely her strength,” Ozbun said. “The way that she carried herself on and off the field. The way that she prepared for her classes. The way that she prepared for games. The way that she competed. She was rarely someone that seemed stressed, but you could tell she cared about things.”
As a leader on the team, Secaras motivated her teammates to succeed, but she also learned a lot about leadership and teamwork for herself.
“[Being a captain] reminded me how important it is to stick to your team values and to really trust your coach’s process and that things are working well for this team,” Secaras said. “But then also sometimes you can’t be afraid to say, ‘wait, this isn’t going well, how can we fix this?’ I learned a lot about, like, trusting your training, trusting that things are good here, but also asking, how can we solve problems in the most efficient way?”
“She was a great communicator as well,” Ozbun said. “So she wasn’t afraid to have a conversation with somebody if that needed to happen. But she approached everything with a ‘hey, how can I help you’ attitude. I think that was really well respected amongst her peers too.”
These leadership skills have transferred over to her current position as a HESS professor.
“I found that now, that’s why I like being in the classroom,” Secaras said. “I love being that facilitator of learners and, like when I was a captain, trying to draw out people’s strengths and making sure everyone is having a good experience on the team or in the classroom.”
Secaras first learned about the field of sports psychology during a panel discussion on careers in sports. She went on to receive her masters degree and doctorate in kinesiology from Michigan State University. While pursuing her PhD, she came across the job posting for a HESS professor at Denison.
“I think my jaw dropped,” Secaras said. “It was exactly what I was looking for at a place that I love.”
Secaras wants to make each class worthwhile and fun for her students. In the Psychology of Sports and History of Sports classes she teaches, she’s able to create activities that help students to learn through interaction. In the history class, students created a timeline of everything they learned so far and moved from station to station.
While being a professor is far different than being a student-athlete, the skills and lessons Secaras has learned have stayed with her through every step in her life.
“I really like that part of sports where you can dial in, you can focus on one thing, and your worries are kind of forgotten. You’re able to just enjoy yourself,” Secaras said. “I just love playing sports.”