Sarah Crossman is from the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work and is one of the recipients for the 2025 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Doctoral Thesis Excellence and was supervised by Professor Murray Drummond, Associate Professor Sam Elliot and Dr Jasmine Petersen.
Sarah thesis was titled “Engaging and Retaining Adults in Organised Sport: The Development of the Adult Sport Participation Framework”
We invited Sarah to share what this award means and advice to current students.
What does winning this award mean?
The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Doctoral Thesis Excellence is an incredible honour and wonderful conclusion to my candidature. While I worked pretty hard, juggling parenting and work responsibilities, the award reflects the support and encouragement I received from my supervisors, other HDR students, and my family and friends along the way. Completing a PhD can be an isolating experience, but establishing these relationships was a highlight that certainly helped me to achieve my best and made the experience enjoyable.
What was the topic of your PhD and why is it important to you?
I’m passionate about finding ways to support adults to become more active through sport and physical activity. Physical activity can bring so many benefits, but there are also many challenges and complexities associated with helping people to get moving in ways that are enjoyable and meaningful to everyone. Completing my PhD was a wonderful opportunity to be able to explore all these complexities, and to develop new ways of thinking about sport options for adults that suit their unique needs and preferences.
Where are you now?
I am currently working at Flinders University and Adelaide University as a research associate in sport participation and physical activity. I’m involved with some interesting projects, including a walking football program for older men to reduce social isolation and loneliness, and a peer-led outdoor fitness equipment program for older adults to encourage physical activity and social connection. Applying my research knowledge in real-world situations is very rewarding, and I hope to continue building on this throughout my career.
What advice would you give to current or prospective PhD students?
I have three pieces of advice for current or prospective PhD students. 1) Find a topic you are passionate about. It will make the whole experience more enjoyable and rewarding. 2) Make the most of all learning opportunities. Whether that is through learning new research methods, joining university committees as an HDR representative, presenting at conferences, speaking on the radio. Gaining these experiences during your research ‘training’ is so valuable for your future career. 3) Be kind to yourself. A PhD can be stressful and filled with self-doubt, so reflect on the fact that you are learning and that it’s ok not to know everything