Tiffany Patterson
"Set big goals and learn to love the work that gets you to them." - Des Linden
Hello,
a bit about me & my life mentors:
I grew up in a small hometown (Warsaw, IN) where going outside all day long in the summer til it was dark was the norm. I was the youngest of 5 children in my family with having 2 older brothers and 2 older sisters. To say the least, I had to be tough in order to hang with them and to be able to stand up for myself. My Grandmother Ellen Jurie would always help stand up for me, and was one of my biggest mentors in my life growing up. I had many challenges I faced growing up and I could always count on her to be able to talk to. We would go to her house almost every day that we could. We played every sport I think possible. I was lucky enough that she lived off of a lake too and could really enjoy the outdoors in many ways. She was one of my biggest fans when I started playing sports in school. She always pushed me to try my hardest, and to give it my all. It wasn't until my 8th grade year when I took what she said about working harder than the others when I became much faster at running. I ended up getting MVP of my track team my 8th grade year and where 7th grade I didn't even make it to the Conference meet and felt defeated. This is the year where I realized that I had more potential than I ever knew I had if I just would work really hard. Her kindness of helping others, having a big heart, strong determination and sweet spirit transpired through me, I wanted to always be like her. I wanted to help others just like all of the people she helped throughout her life. One big lesson that she taught me was to find something that I absolutely loved, to go and pursue it without anyone else deciding this for me. She did start having health problems while I was in High School starting my Freshman year so I always looked forward to telling her how my track meets went. She did pass away in 2012, is a part of who I am daily, & I know she would be proud.
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One of my very first mentors I was blessed with was my High School Track Coach, Scott Erba (wearing the orange shirt in the top left picture). He always saw a lot of potential in me throughout high school. He would push all of us to make big goals & teach us skills about having good character, commitment, and confidence. He was such a positive influence in my life without realizing, because my home life wasn't always the best either. I always was the smallest person in my grade and had to work really hard to compete with others. I was pleased to have been one of the very first girl pole vaulters in high school starting my sophomore year, only boys were allowed to pole vault prior to this. He pushed me to try it and I am glad that I did, he also was brand new at coaching pole vault too. One big goal that I made was to make it to State in the 4x100 relay & break the school record from 1978. We accomplished this my Junior year of High School placing 7th at State & also made it to the state meet my senior year as well. Being apart of a team where the vision was set to be the best team player and person you can be was amazing. What I learned from participating in Track & Field has stuck with me throughout my life and one of the reasons why I picked the degree path I am in today.
My husband Ken is one of my biggest fans. He has supported my college career by helping me to remain positive and always encouraging me. We enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities, running 5k's, half marathons & Spartans together. This wasn't always the case for many of the first years we were married. We found that pushing each other during exercise helped with our relationship even more. We are both pretty competitive so it is great to be able to push each other to accomplish goals. He really enjoys giving me a hard time and joking with me about everything especially if it is anything work out related. Ken pushed me to pursue my dreams of going to college for Kinesiology because I was so passionate about helping my coworkers & him with physical activity back in 2011 when I started exercising a lot again. I took many years off of really doing much physical activity after high school, and once I was back into it I realized how much I loved and missed it. I'm glad I took the time off to help me realize how important physical activity was for me. We have had many ups and downs with life and I'm blessed that God placed such a great person into my life.
Dr. Rachel Swinford is one of my very first mentors in college that has made a major impact on me throughout my college career. She has been one of my mentors since taking Hper-P 205 Spring of 2018. Rachel is one of the Clinical Assistant Professors in the School of Health & Human Sciences at IUPUI. Rachel saw potential in me as a student and has pushed me to step out of comfort zones and truly find who I am. I remember telling her at one point that I did not want to speak in front of the class because it made me super nervous and she pushed me to do it! Now years later I would feel perfectly fine talking in front of a class because my confidence has just grown throughout the years. She has been one of the first professors to be open about the importance of mental health and stating the importance of taking care of your mental health throughout college and in real life. She is a role model to me and has also participated in a Chrome Fitness Showcase doing pole fitness where her routine was on #breakthestigma Mental Health Matters. The importance of understanding mental health and the struggles that everyone has is very important to me. Rachel has gone above as a Professor in understanding students as having lives outside of college but at the same time holding students accountable as well. Her advice has helped me to make decisions about my future and to go after what I am passionate about. Plus she loves fanny packs just as much as I do! Definitely blessed to have such a great mentor in my life.
Dr. Keith Naugle has made a big impact in my life and to help develop me as a professional going into the Strength and Conditioning field. Dr. Naugle is one of the Clinical Assistant Professors in the School of Health & Human Sciences. He has been my mentor since spring of 2020 when I took both Hper-P 205 and Hper-P 373 in the same semester. Keith always saw a lot of potential in me, one time we were reviewing an exam in his office and discussing how I was unsure of what to do for Graduate school because I felt that OT just wasn't the right direction for me and my life. He told me I should consider getting my master's degree and to look at taking his research class because I would do well at it. I did decide to take an opportunity of taking his undergrad research summer class which opened up more opportunities to get experience doing undergraduate research throughout Fall of 2020 and this Spring. With the circumstances of covid he pushed me to design my own research project that intertwined with my Internship with PSM Performance. This was a good challenge for me and pushed my creativity. The final research we have been working on will be completed this upcoming summer. I have been a student to push him by always asking questions and he has gone above with helping me to be able to succeed and pushing me. He has taught me so much this past year about research, strength & conditioning, and about life that I will always be grateful for. With plans of going to the University of Florida for my masters degree, I can't wait to be a Gator and a part of the APK traditions.