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When Catherine Dominick ’16 started working as a personal trainer at the Equinox Sports Club in Boston, she paid close attention to how veteran trainers communicated with their clients. “I could see how they used motivational interview tactics, read body language, and practiced behavior modification, and I realized ‘Oh yeah, this is psychology.’”

That was Dominick’s major at �պ�����. While she lacked the academic background in kinesiology and biomechanics that some of her colleagues came into the industry with, she discovered her psychology degree and her broad liberal arts training was a powerful tool in becoming a successful trainer.

“When you ask very broad, open-ended questions and listen to the verbal and non-verbal cues of your clients, you can put together a strategy to meet their goals. When it comes to developing relationships, it’s all about psychology."

Dominick grew up in Chepachet, Rhode island. Friends from her hometown who had visited �պ����� suggested she apply here. She visited a lot of independent schools during her college search, but the first time she visited �պ����� she knew she had found her home for the next four years.

“I just loved the buzz on campus—it was the middle of March and here were people longboarding, playing frisbee. As I walked across campus people would smile and say ‘hi.’ That sense of connection never left me while I was at �պ�����.”

Dominick was pretty sure she wanted to pursue a career helping people with mental or physical disabilities and entered the College of Nursing’s Communications sciences and disorders program. A course in developmental psychology taught by prof. Susan Fenstermacher got her hooked on psychology, and she changed her major while adopting nutrition and communications science as minors.

A competitive athlete since high school, Dominick’s athletic endeavors also played a key role in her personal development. She walked onto the �պ����� track and field team as a first-year student and competed in the program’s indoor and outdoor seasons. While not a skilled specialist in individual events, she was a determined and hard-working all-around competitor. She became a heptathlete, competing in multiple events--it demanded a grueling training regimen but she learned how to prepare mentally and physically for events requiring strength, speed and quickness.

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After two years at Equinox, Dominick is already moving up the organizational ladder. She has been accepted for the company’s Tier-X Curriculum, high-level training that’s preparing her for a wider administrative coaching role.

Along with clients trying to lose weight or improve their physical performance, she trains serious athletes and professional dancers who depend on a strong holistic mind-body approach to training.

“in this new role I’ll be functioning as part of a professional team including nutritionists, psychologists and medical doctors and supervising trainers. It’s a role that �պ����� provided the foundation for—I wouldn’t trade my experience there for anything.”