Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 9 No. 3 | January 2017

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2017
ZACH
SWITZER
SWIMMING & DIVING
Woodberry Forest, Virginia
by Jimmy Robertson
VBS VT 1-3 page ad_Layout 1 7/21/16 11:52 AM Page 1
Zach Switzer is a men’s swimmer who competes mostly in the individual
medley and backstroke events. He graduates in May with a degree in psychology
and plans on furthering his education by getting his master’s and doctoral degrees.
Q: Why did you decide to major in psychology?
ZS: “Throughout high school, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do with my
studies. I knew I wasn’t a fan of math, and I liked science and history classes, but they
weren’t super engaging. I had tons of conversations about what I enjoyed and what
I was good at, and then going into my senior year, I decided to take AP [advanced
placement] psychology. It was one of the best classes I have ever taken. I hadn’t truly
enjoyed a class until this one. I immediately became interested in the many different
fields of psychology and being able to learn about how human beings tick. Going into
college, I decided to stick with it, and I haven’t looked away from the major since.”
Q: Have you done any internships or anything related to the field outside of
your general coursework?
ZS: “I am currently a research assistant in the interface of leadership and teams
lab here at Virginia Tech. The members of the lab complete research on topics
such as leadership emergence, leadership perceptions, team dynamics, gender and
leadership, etc.”
Q: How did this re-affirm that you made the right choice in pursuing
psychology?
ZS: “I believe leadership is an essential part of an organization’s success today. The
lab has given me the opportunity to take what I have learned about the topic of
leadership and apply it to real-world situations. It has also helped me narrow my focus
and interests within psychology to the industrial/organizational branch of psychology.”
Q: You are thinking about pursuing graduate school, right?
Where will you apply?
ZS: “When majoring in psychology, it is pretty much necessary to attend graduate
school to be a real asset within the field. Also, I really just want to continue learning
and improving my understanding of industrial/organizational psychology before
I enter the workforce. I’m going to apply all over the place. Virginia Tech will be
one of the schools where I apply, as well as other schools with highly touted I/O
doctoral programs.”
Q: What is the short-term plan for you?
ZS: “I would like to take a quick break from school and re-adjust before entering
graduate school. The plan is to find an internship or entry-level job as a human capital
consultant, and then after setting my feet and gaining some experience, I’ll go back to
the college lifestyle.”
Q: What is your long-term goal, and why?
ZS: “Gettingmy doctoral degree is the long-termgoal at this point inmy career. Being
able to be the first person in my family with this degree would mean a lot to me. After
that, I would hope to join a prestigious consulting firm and learn as much as I possibly
can. Eventually, one day being able to go off on my own and run a consulting firm
would be the end goal.”