Anna Farello
Sport for Development and Peace
Anna is a PhD researcher studying Sport for Development and Peace in the Institute for Sport Business. She received her BA in Psychology and her MS in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Her time with at Loughborough will be spent studying youth from refugee backgrounds and their experiences in and access to sport.
Anna received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Portland, Oregon, in Psychology and Spanish. She then studied Sport and Exercise Psychology at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. At Ball State Anna assisted Dr Lindsey Blom with research projects in Positive Youth Development and Sport for Development and Peace, which ultimately inspired her to continue doing research in these domains.
PhD research description
Anna has spent most of her life playing sports such as volleyball, football, softball, and distance running. These experiences piqued her interest in using sport as a platform for much more than physical competence - for peace-building and youth development. Youth from refugee backgrounds are particularly vulnerable and often overlooked by policymakers and sport programmers. These young people could greatly benefit from positive experiences in sport to aid in their acculturation process, which is the foundation of her PhD research.
PhD supervisors
Anna's PhD is supervised by Dr Holly Collison and Professor James Skinner.