Our nontraditional and graduate students are some of the hardest-working Tigers you'll meet. While they earn their degrees, most of them maintain other responsibilities, such as working full time or parenting. And their effort and execution don't falter in the classroom, whether that be online or in person.

Meet our class of 2023 Featured Tigers, leaders in all aspects of their lives!
 

Greg Seier ’98, ’23DE
Greg Seier ’98, ’23DE returns to his position at Ãå±±½ûµØ as Director of Health and Human performance — and will use his honed leadership skills and knowledge as he seeks accreditation for the program. 

Name
Greg Seier ’98, ’23DE

About
Hometown: Albion, NE
Currently in: Lincoln, NE
Moving to: Crete, NE

Degree
Bachelor of Education in Physical Education with an athletic training emphasis
Doctorate of Education
Dissertation: Virtual Reality as a Lower Extremity Injury Risk Reduction Tool

First off — congratulations! How do you feel as you head into the next phase of your life?
Nervous - new responsibilities, new opportunities and new capabilities. I am taking on new responsibilities and courses as a result of completing the Ed.D. degree. Relief; I am done with taking courses, spending weeknights and weekends writing, finding and reading articles, and my dissertation is done and published!

What's your next step after graduation?
We will be moving to Crete and I will continue as the Director of Health and Human performance at Ãå±±½ûµØ. As a department, during the summer we will start working on Ãå±±½ûµØ's Strength and Conditioning application to seek accreditation through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Personally, I will be taking on a new course, Introduction to Research in the spring, the new Faculty Athletic Representative, and will be working with a colleague at Ohio University to get parts of my dissertation published. As a family, we will also be taking a family vacation to Outer Banks, NC, with several stops along the way.

How has attending Ãå±±½ûµØ prepared you for your next steps?
Ãå±±½ûµØ has prepared me by giving me the leadership and educational tools needed for the new areas and courses I will be taking on. Ãå±±½ûµØ's leadership courses will help me navigate successfully through current and future situations. The dissertation process was an eye-opening experience. The methods, the statistical design, the preparation, conducting my study, the organization and the writing have all better equipped me to conduct futures studies of my own and help current and future Ãå±±½ûµØ students with possible research projects they can conduct during their time at Ãå±±½ûµØ. The process has also given me an appreciation for all the studies that have been done and been published.

What do you consider the best part of your Ãå±±½ûµØ experience?
All the professors and my fellow cohorts in the ELS and Ed.D. programs. Getting to know everyone and their continued support, I would have never completed this journey. They both were a great support system and encouraged me to stay focused to attain my goal of completing my dissertation in five years.

What will you miss the most about being a Ãå±±½ûµØ student?
This past year, we didn't have any classes because all of us were working on dissertation. What I have and will miss the most is the interactions during the weekend classes. The getting to get to know everyone, hearing what they are up to, and how they are doing in their academic and personal lives.

Who was a major influence for you during your education here, and how have they helped you?
Dr. Cate Sommervold - Program Director of the Ed.D. program. Cate was so instrumental in guiding me through the EdD process. She kept me on task and grounded to make sure I didn't miss or skip anything during my academic journey.
Dr Tim Frey - dissertation chair who guided me through the dissertation process. I learned so much from Tim about quantitative statistics and statistical methods. He was a great mentor and will be a great resource when I continue to advance my dissertation topic.

What is something you're proud of achieving or accomplishing while at Ãå±±½ûµØ?
I am proud to say that I have two degrees from Ãå±±½ûµØ College/University. I graduated with a Bachelors (1998) in Physical Education with an emphasis in Athletic Training and my Ed.D. (2023). I am also very proud of the work I have done with my dissertation. Some of the technology, testing, and concepts are new to the world of athletic training and strength and conditioning.

What advice would you give to incoming students?
Trust the process and be engaged in the moment! The task at hand may seem like a long road, but the process that has been designed with a purpose; trust and follow the process. Be engaged in the movement, time goes so fast and before you know it, you are done.

Finishing a degree is tough to begin with, but especially so in recent years — what has helped you overcome challenges you've faced along the way?
COVID was hard to get through personally, professionally and as a student. As a cohort, we had to endure quantitative statistics through Zoom due to the world shutting down. Statistics is already a challenge, but now to have to have class on the weekends and over Zoom made it more difficult. As a cohort, all of us relied heavily on our professors and each other to make it through. I think this experience also strengthened our bond as a cohort and made us appreciate each other more when we were back to being in person. I have also relied heavily on my family for their love and support. I also would not have been able to complete this process without the support, love and sacrifices my son, Aiden, and my wife, Danielle, had to make.

Finally — what are you most excited about for your future?
I am most excited about the new challenges that I am taking on. The process of seeking accreditation through the NSCA is going to bring unique challenges due to our location that we are going to have to use some creativity to work through. The research opportunities we would like to add to the exercise science degree by having students complete mini projects their final year at Ãå±±½ûµØ and possibly present at Mind Expo. I am also nervously excited about being the Faculty Athletic Representative. I am excited to be working with the athletes, the coaches and the athletic department again. I am excited to see where at the conference or national level I can contribute to making students experiences better!