{"id":219,"date":"2015-07-08T10:52:32","date_gmt":"2015-07-08T17:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/soc.wsu.edu\/socnews\/?page_id=219"},"modified":"2015-08-31T12:22:51","modified_gmt":"2015-08-31T19:22:51","slug":"exceptional-senior-shines-on-the-track-and-in-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/soc.wsu.edu\/socnews\/exceptional-senior-shines-on-the-track-and-in-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"“Exceptional Senior” shines on the track and in the classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"
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”Exceptional Senior” Shines on the Track and in the Classroom<\/h1>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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\"Dominique<\/a>
Dominique Keel (center), a rising senior sociology major, is a member of the WSU track and field team.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

by Pierce Greenberg<\/p>\n

When sociology major Dominique Keel wakes up in the morning, she has one big choice to make: study early in the morning (6 a.m.) or late at night (7 p.m.). The rest of her day is spent juggling schoolwork and her other passion \u2014 track and field.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lessons I\u2019ve learned in track have spilled over to academics. If you work hard, you\u2019re going to get what you want. But if you slack off, you\u2019re not,\u201d Keel said. \u201cIf I study and do my homework and I\u2019m invested in it, then I\u2019m going to get the A. But if I slack off\u2026 I\u2019m not going to get what I want.\u201d<\/p>\n

That hard work has paid off. Keel received this year\u2019s Exceptional Senior Award from the sociology department, and helped both the 4 x 100 meter and 4 x 400 meter relay teams qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship.<\/p>\n

Her team placed 17th<\/sup> in the nation in the 4 x 100 meter relay and 21st<\/sup> in the 4 x 400 meter relay at championships in Eugene, Oregon.<\/p>\n

The key to that success is balance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually have to utilize this plan or write down what I have to do and when,\u201d Keel said. \u201cThe biggest thing I\u2019ve learned about balance is just staying disciplined. In college, no one is going to walk you through it. It\u2019s on your own. If you want it, you have to go get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Keel\"<\/a>
Keel helped her team to the NCAA National Championship meet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Keel\u2019s love of people and understanding their actions led to her majoring in sociology, with an emphasis in social work. The Exceptional Senior Award is given to a rising senior who excels at courses within the sociology major.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u201cI thought about what do I really like to do. Where is my heart at? It\u2019s with people and hearing people\u2019s stories and why they are the way they are,\u201d Keel said. \u201cSo, I was like, \u2018OK, I can do sociology and social work and figure out why people feel this way.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Keel, originally from Beaverton, Oregon, hopes to carry that interest into graduate school in 2016. But first, she still has some goals she would like to achieve on the track.<\/p>\n

This year, Keel and her teammates notched the second fastest time in WSU history in the 4 x 100 meter relay, completing it in 44.61 seconds. The time was seventh fastest in the West Regional and qualified them for the national championship.<\/p>\n

Keel also helped the team qualify in the 4 x 400 meter relay, where they finished 12th<\/sup> in the West Regional to advance to nationals. Despite their recent success, Keel wants to finish her track career on a high note next season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to have a younger team next year, so [I\u2019m thinking about] how I\u2019m going to develop the girls that come in next year, so that when I come back in two years, it\u2019s an exceptional program,\u201d Keel said.<\/p>\n

Photos courtesy of Washington State Athletics. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

”Exceptional Senior” Shines on the Track and in the Classroom by Pierce Greenberg When sociology major Dominique Keel wakes up in the morning, she has one big choice to make: study early in the morning (6 a.m.) or late at night (7 p.m.). The rest of her day is spent juggling schoolwork and her other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1013,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-builder.php","meta":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[397],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/soc.wsu.edu\/socnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/219"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/soc.wsu.edu\/socnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/soc.wsu.edu\/socnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soc.wsu.edu\/socnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1013"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soc.wsu.edu\/socnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/soc.wsu.edu\/socnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":330,"href":"https:\/\/soc.wsu.edu\/socnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/219\/revisions\/330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/soc.wsu.edu\/socnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soc.wsu.edu\/socnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=219"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soc.wsu.edu\/socnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}