Elif Erdem

Why FSU?

FSU has the best Sport Psychology Program in the country, and I have known about it long before I was awarded a Fulbright scholarship! I was following the publications of the professors of my current program while I was doing my bachelor's degree back in Ankara, Turkey, and I was just a fan of them. Being here and learning from them is a dream come true for me.

Motivation to pursue a graduate degree

I was a professional figure skater, and I knew how important the mental aspect was for performing well. I chose a psychology major in my undergraduate degree to be able to help other athletes after earning my master's degree. Currently, as a sport psychology master's student, I am diving into the fascinating world of academia, and I realize this is what I want! I decided to pursue a PhD after my master's. So to sum up, I would say in the beginning, my motivation was mainly to receive a master's degree in a good program and use what I learned to help other athletes. However, now my motivation to pursue a master's degree is to continue my journey in academia!

Importance and/or impact of research and work

My research is about the relationship between perfectionism, burnout, and the psychology of rest in collegiate student athletes. The literature has an extensive amount of research studies about perfectionism and burnout. However, the psychology of rest was not the main focus. Athletes spend their childhood, adolescence, and some of their adulthood years in their sport; basically sport is their life. It is not easy for them to stop thinking about their sport even when they are having a physical rest. So having a proper physical rest might not be enough to save them from burnout, since their mind is wondering about their sport. And we already know from the literature that perfectionism has different dimensions and that some of them are associated with burnout. Considering these factors, my research study can give some insight into which perfectionism groups engage with mental rest more or less than others. And then we can use this information to develop specific mental rest strategies depending on athletes' perfectionism types and try to prevent burnout.

Career aspirations

After my master's, I want to do my PhD degree in Europe.

Advice for anyone considering graduate school

Be sure you love to read about your field :) Grad school requires a lot of work, so be prepared for that. You need to love what you are studying, otherwise, grad school will not be an enjoyable experience for you.

Accomplishments during graduate career

I successfully defended my thesis prospectus. I also ran my first 5K. These two were the accomplishments of Spring 2022 for me :)