A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley (B.S with High Distinction in Molecular and Cellular Biology), Tucker first became interested in sport and exercise psychology while working with a psychologist to enhance his skills as a non-competitive distance runner. While his mileage has since decreased, the positive experience led Tucker to pursue his Masters degree in Physical Education (with an emphasis in Sport Psychology) at San Diego State University. Under the guidance of Dr. Susan Levy and others, Tucker developed an interest in the relationship between the self and participation in physical activity. Tucker received the department’s Outstanding Graduate Student award for 2004 while compiling his Master’s Thesis, “Possible Selves and Exercise Behavior.”

Currently, Tucker is in the 4^th year of his doctoral education with Dr. Vicki Ebbeck in Exercise and Sport Science (Sport & Exercise Psychology emphasis) at Oregon State University. He is also pursuing a minor in Women Studies, which has further shaped his research interest to include issues of discursive gender practices in sport and physical activity, including their relationship to the self. In addition to teaching Lifetime Wellness lectures within the department, Tucker is also recognized as an instructor in the Women’s Studies department, teaching “Women in Sport” and other courses. In 2005 Tucker received a $13,000 research grant from the Erkkila Endowment for Human Performance to study obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms in community-based exercisers. Outside of the classroom, Tucker is the Staff Advisor to the Oregon State Women’s Club Lacrosse team and the Longboarding Club. In 2007, Tucker was the recipient of Oregon State’s Herbert F. Frolander Award, which is awarded to the University’s outstanding graduate teaching assistant for excellence in teaching and service to the profession.

Tucker became a student member of AASP when he presented his Master’s thesis research at a poster session during the 2004 National conference in Minneapolis. Since joining AASP, Tucker has attended the 2005, 2006 and 2007 conferences, becoming a Northwest Regional Representative in 2006. His involvement in student initiatives includes leading the Performance Excellence Movement (PEM) in 2006 and 2007, organizing the Diversity Scholarship Initiative, and acting as the primary student member contact for the recently formed Student Development Committee.

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