Joshua Raglon, a senior and track and field athlete at Lamar University, participated in the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program to help prepare him for graduate studies in psychology. (Contributed photo)

Full of interests, full of hope: Mix that with some hard work and perseverance, and Joshua Raglon figures it is a good way to approach a bright future.

A resident senior with a psychology major and a sociology minor at Lamar University, Raglon believes his fields of study are useful and has plans to advance his education further after receiving his bachelor's degree at the end of this semester.

"I've always been interested in the mind," said Raglon, "and thoughts and cognition, why people do what they do. I took a class in high school, a psychology class, and I really liked it, so I stuck with it.

"Within the field, I really like social psychology because it deals with interactions. You can apply it, so to speak, with your family, your friends. You notice it more because you interact with people every day."

Currently, Raglon is applying to several universities in Texas with the intention of pursing an advanced degree in kinesiology with an emphasis on sports psychology, an area of interest likely developed from being an athlete himself.

Growing up in Humble, just north of Houston, Raglon played football and ran track at Humble High School. In college, he has continued to run track for the past four years and participated in the 400, 800 and 4x400 meter runs. With foresight, in the fall of 2010, Raglon applied for the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, a research program at LU designed to prepare students for doctoral studies. As a participant, Raglon conducted a research project, "The Effect of Prayer Styles on State Anxiety."

"I wanted to see how three different prayer styles would decrease anxiety compared to participants who didn't pray," said Raglon. "The results were not significant, and there were a few limitations. But the most important thing I got out of it was practice communicating with people about my research."

In his spare time, Raglon said he enjoys writing scripts for skits and movies, as well as writing and recording RB music.

Name: Joshua Raglon

Age: 21

Occupation: Student

Community Connection: Lamar University resident student

Fast Fact: On the university track and field team, Joshua Raglon has participated in the 400, 800 and 4x400 meter runs.