Charlotte Mohn is a recent graduate from the Ball State University Sport and Exercise Psychology program! Learn more about their capstone research project and the fellowship they received in the Q&A below.

Q: Where is your hometown?

A: My hometown is Steinhagen (NRW) in Germany.

Q: What are a few of your favorite hobbies?

A: One of my main hobbies is being physically active, such as doing CrossFit or playing pickleball at Lucina Courts with friends. I also enjoy training and walking my two-year-old German shepherd.

Q: Where did you obtain your bachelor’s and/or master’s degrees, what were your major(s)?

A: I obtained my bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Trier in Germany. After two years of work and internships, I decided to continue my academic endeavor at Ball State, where I studied sport and exercise psychology as well as social psychology with a minor in clinical mental health counseling.

Q: Why did you choose Ball State for your graduate studies?

A: As I was interested in studying sport psychology, I soon came across Ball State’s School of Kinesiology. Its sport and exercise psychology graduate program was known to be one of the best in the country, so why not study there?! After further research about the university, I had the feeling that Ball State is a very liberal and open-minded, forward thinking university. So, I thought this would be the best fit for my academic endeavors.

Q: What first interested you about your graduate program?

A: What first interested me about my graduate program was its strong emphasis on both, applied work and research, which aligned perfectly with my career goals. The possibility of pursuing a double major was also a significant draw, allowing for a broad and interdisciplinary education. Additionally, the program director’s expertise and renowned research in the field added to my interest. I was also impressed by the various opportunities available within the program. After talking to the professors, I had a very positive feeling about the program, which was further supported by the intimate cohort size of just 5-7 people, ensuring personalized attention and a tight-knit community.

Q: What is one lesson you have learned as a graduate student?

A: One of the main lessons I learned as a graduate student is to use available resources to find your passion. I was fortunate to be part of different research projects and applied opportunities, through which I was able to find out about my interests and what I am truly passionate about regarding my future.

Q: Describe your capstone research project and how you used the funds from the fellowship to help complete the project.

A: The purpose of my qualitative research project “Experiences of NCAA Sexual Minority Female Student-Athletes Regarding Minority Stressors and Coping Strategies” was to understand the experiences of sexual minority collegiate student-athletes regarding stressors related to their identities and ways they cope with these stressors. For this, semi-structured interviews with five NCAA sexual minority female student-athletes were conducted to gather information and analyzed using a thematic analysis. Results showed a multitude of emerging themes regarding participants’ experiences of minority stress as well as coping strategies they used to overcome it.
As the thesis project was the final requirement for my master’s degrees, I was determined to complete the project by the end of the summer semester 2024. Therefore, I utilized the fellowship funds as a stipend, which allowed me to devote myself entirely to the timely completion of my thesis project, without having to balance my time with other work responsibilities.