We caught up with former student-athlete Freedom Akinmoladun and asked him to share some thoughts about his experience at Nebraska.
How did you decide on psychology as a major?
Psychology is a topic that has always drawn my attention. In high school psychology was introduced to me and it amazed me how much I didn’t know the scientific reason for how my behaviors were either motived or influenced by others or the environment around me. From that point on I knew that I needed to understand more about the psychological side of life and that is what created my passion for psychology.
What are you currently doing for your career - have you continued with football?
Right now I continue to play football at the next level. Currently, I am in the process of being drafted by and playing for the NFL. I am currently learning more and more about other behaviors through the draft process for the NFL. There are certain behaviors that scouts look for in a player such as determination, the want to be the best and other characteristics that stand out to them. Also, being able to observe the environment or culture that you’re in and apply principles that I have learned in class allows me to adapt to any situation.
Will you share more about the idea of how you see psychology interacting with athletic performance?
Being able to first understand yourself is an important thing in both life and football. It allows you to know your strengths and weakness but also helps you understand why you perform certain behaviors. The reason I play football is to be a great role model for my family, community, and for my kids and their future. I want them to understand that if they want to be successful in whatever they do, there will be a lot of pain and failure. But, at the end of the day before they put their head on the pillow if they can say they have no regrets, then they will be successful. Psychology has allowed me to see things from a certain viewpoint which will help in the future.
What do you wish more people understood about being a student-athlete?
One thing I wish other students understood about student-athletes is that we are human too. Most people get caught up in the fact that the student plays for a D-1 university and it seems like they receive whatever they want. […] Just like other students, we need to perform at a high level to pass our classes and to be qualified to participate in our sport. Then we have to go to work just like other students to get through college. […] Some of the athletes are so dedicated to their sport and academics that is it full-time job. In return, those athletes will not apply for internships or jobs throughout their college career. However, in life there will always be minor setbacks such as injuries that can keep them off the field for a short period of time or permanently. […] imagine your whole life dreaming about playing in the NFL or participating in the Olympics and now those dreams vanish into thin air. In summary, we are humans that have a lot depend on our performance just like you, and we are proud to represent the university in whatever event it is.
What is a favorite memory or impactful experience from undergrad at UNL?
My favorite memory as an undergrad was participating in group presentation where we had to display a certain phenomenon in psychology. My favorite presentation was explaining the bystander effect in class. I had my classmate laying down on the floor randomly before class to see what my other classmates would do. Most of the students asked the participants if they were ok and others just stepped over their bodies. We were then able to explain the experiment.
Do you have a piece of advice for current psychology undergrads?
My advice to current psychology undergrads is to soak in all the information that you learn because you will need to apply a lot of the material to your job and in your life.
