Letters from Friends
Students First, Students Now benefits sport management student
Vincent Lyons with son Vincenzo and wife, Pauletta.
Vincent Lyons, a first-year doctoral student in sport management, moved his family from St. Louis to Columbus and found himself in a financial bind last autumn. At the recommendation of the director of the School of Physical Activity and Educational Services, Lyons received a scholarship from the college’s Mary M. Yost Student Emergency Fund.
Dr. Yost, a retired faculty member from sport and exercise science who died in 1999, had directed her will to create a fund to help students in need stay in school. Her legacy captures the spirit of the university’s Students First, Students Now initiative, which recently finished raising $100 million to ensure that students in need continue their educational programs. More deserving students like Lyons can be helped by giving to the College of Education and Human Ecology Student Financial Aid Fund: Number: 302808.
Lyons wrote to thank the college and share his research interests.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the Mary Yost Scholarship that I received. My family has faced some very difficult realities since we moved here from Saint Louis in the summer of 2010. My wife, Pauletta, and son, Vincenzo, are very happy to be here in Columbus. For me, the opportunity to be in the PhD program in Sport Management is truly a dream come true. It is an honor to accept this generous award from the College of Education and Human Ecology.
I graduated from Ohio State in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education and Animal Science. After college, I attended seminary for four years in Columbus, Ohio. I then spent nine years as a high school teacher and varsity athletic coach at Columbus Public Schools, The Wellington School and Chaminade College Preparatory Catholic School in St. Louis.
From my teaching experience, I know firsthand the power and positive influence that my educational and interpersonal service to students has had. I am proud to say that many of my former students are currently in graduate or professional school here at Ohio State.
Contributing to student knowledge and growth
I am pleased to be contributing to the college’s teaching of undergraduates. Starting last autumn, I taught two three-credit hour lecture courses: Sports for the Spectator and Health in American Society. These courses allowed me to use my extensive background in biology, sociology, education and sport to communicate with students about living a healthier life, as well as appreciating the role that sports play in schools and society in general.
I enjoy listening to students during class discussions as I intentionally build their comments and insights into assessments. Additionally, I believe that my time spent with students one on one during office hours allows them to consider their own research interests. My aim is to help my students develop as whole persons who feel confident moving forward into their intended careers.
I am fortunate to have Assistant Professor Brian Turner as my primary advisor in the Sport Management program. I consider Professor Packianathan Chelladurai to be an advisor as well. These gentlemen provide valuable feedback on my writing and are helping me publish papers that I have written this year. Their weekly mentoring and friendship has given me confidence to pursue my interests with passion. I can't imagine navigating this program without the leadership of these esteemed faculty members. I have received so much benefit from them and the other faculty.
Research interests: Social and ethical problems in sport, sport and religion
One of my scholarly areas is the social and ethical problems prevalent in sport, such as the conduct of athletes and coaches on and off the field. I consider it important for sport managers and coaches at all levels to have access to current research that aids their effectiveness in making well-informed decisions for athletes on a daily basis.
Thanks to my master's in divinity, another of my scholarly focus areas has to do with sport and religion. Despite the fact that sociologists have talked for decades about how religious beliefs motivate and inspire the performance of many athletes, few sport management scholars have published on this subject.
Many of my students are very interested in observing and analyzing from a scholarly standpoint the influence of religious belief on athletes today. Sport managers may be able to use such information to understand more completely the attitudes and motivations of their athletes. In general, though, the similarities between sport and religion, including the priority that is placed on both in our society as a whole, make this area of scholarly pursuit worthwhile to study and ever evolving.
In closing, this scholarship has allowed us the breathing room to pay our bills. My mental focus and resolve are now at an all time high. I am truly enjoying the challenge of the courses I am taking, as well as those classes that I am teaching.
Sincerely,
Vincent Lyons
Bachelor of Science
Master of Divinity
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