FAST Interview

F.A.S.T. Interview:

Each quarter we'll check in with our F.A.S.T. members to provide an opportunity to look at athletics and our team through a different lens. First up is our Men's and Women's Track F.A.S.T. Dr. Teresa Garrett.

Enjoy!

Q: Vassar is a nationally recognized institution so people come from all over the place. Where did you grow up and how did you end up coming to Vassar?

A: I lived in Dutchess County until after my freshman year in high school. My mom was tired of the cold and snow so we moved to Florida. I did my undergraduate work at Florida State University then went to graduate school at Duke. Vassar offered me a faculty position in 2007 and so here I am.

You're a part of our Faculty-Athletic Support Team (F.A.S.T.), which shows how much you value living an active lifestyle. What athletic activities did you enjoy growing up and what do you do these days to stay active?

When I was growing up I remember doing lots of different things from softball, basketball, swimming, and tennis, mostly just rec league or summer fun. When I was in junior high the school teams started and I played field hockey and ran track (100 and 400 hurdles!). In Florida, they didn't have field hockey so I joined the cross country team and continued to run track. In college and beyond, walking and running became my go to activity for staying fit though here and there I did some triathlons or cyclocross races.

After coming to Vassar I joined the local US Masters Swimming team and ran with friends to keep in shape and stay sane. In the last two years, I have taken up triathlon again and done a couple of half-Ironman races and just recently the Survival of the Shawangunks. I am excited to have discovered/re-discovered how much I like riding my bike!

What does being a student-athlete at Vassar mean to you through the lens of a Faculty member?

To me being a student-athlete means having to juggle commitments to both his or her personal academic goals as well as a commitment to the team. Juggling those two goal oriented activities that, I imagine, can sometimes seem to be working against each other seems unique to being a student-athlete.

As a professor, what do you think coaches can benefit from understanding about what happens in the classroom?

We ask a lot of our students. We push the students in the classroom in similar ways and to similar extents that you (the coaches) push them.

Continuing that, what collaborations or projects could Faculty and athletics jointly work together on to both enhance real-world application in the classroom and enhance either athletic performance or improve the sense of community.

I am sure there are tons of things! First, I need help to know what research questions athletics need answered and then from there we could brainstorm how we could work together to answer them. From there we need to be willing to start simply - even if we don't answer any profound questions that will impact the sport or performance, the act of asking and trying to answer 'real' questions is a great thing for students to do.

As a biochemist I could envision relating athletic performance intensity to metabolic changes as a way to enhance students' understanding of metabolism. Whether this is useful to an athlete or a coach I don't know but it would be fun for me!

If you were a coach, what's one thing you'd tell your athletes in order to improve their experience at Vassar?

I tell all my students this - 'Don't over commit.' and 'Have fun - you are in college!'

If you were the Athletic Director, what two things would you do to ensure the best student-athlete experience possible at Vassar?

This is a tough one..... I would focus on working with the faculty and administration to see the athletic endeavors of our students as central to the Vassar experience and to a liberal arts education. That is only one thing but I think that is hard enough!

FUN:

Would you rather swim sunset lake or primal scream/streak the library?

Definitely swim sunset lake - I am too old for that other thing.

Favorite spot on campus & why.

Running on the farm with my dog after it snows and no one has been there yet.

What would you most like to see change about the Vassar you know? What would you want to be sure always stayed the same?

(I can't think of anything).....

Favorite Race conditions: Sunny and dry or cold and rainy?

Cold and rainy for sure. After SOS, running with wet feet is no biggie!

100 mile ultra or Full Ironman?

Ughh - neither! But if I had to choose I would choose the Full Ironman.

Ron Stonistch sandwich or $20 in your pocket?

I am not big into sandwiches so give me the money!

It's 5pm, regular or decaf?

Decaf for sure or else I won't be able to get to sleep early enough to get up to jump in the pool at 6am.

Mudd Chemistry is being torn down in March in conjunction with the opening of the renovated and expanded Olmstead. Is the soundtrack: Nostalgic violins or Prince's Party like it's 1999?

'Party!' but I definitely want to snag a glass block or two to remember it by.

Thanks for taking the time to give us a different perspective and we appreciate having you and Jay supporting our student-athletes.

Men's and Women's Cross Country F.A.S.T.	Men's and Women's Track F.A.S.T.
Dr. Jay Bean	Dr. Teresa Garrett
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience	Associate Professor of Chemistry
Fun Fact: Jay used to compete in many local road races and took up rowing for many years.	Fun Fact: Teresa has competed in many cycling and triathlons including the 2015 Survival of the Shawangunks in New Paltz, NY.