The Department of Athletics is always looking for ways to promote the accomplishments of its former student-athletes and will be conducting a series of Alumni Spotlight's to highlight their professional accomplishments. If you have a success story you would like to share, please contact Assistant AD for External Relations Tim Lutz at tlutz1@aum.edu or at 334-244-3832. He can also be reached on Facebook or Twitter (@timlutz). We would love to hear from you and share your accomplishments.
 
Today's Alumni Spotlight features Stacin Wyatt (Halverson), a member of the first AUM softball team, who lettered from 2009-11. Originally from Anaheim, Calif., Wyatt graduated from Auburn Montgomery with a degree in biology in the spring of 2012.
 
Wyatt joined the softball program after playing her freshman season at Santa Ana College in Santa Ana, Calif. During her career she helped the team to a 103-58-2 record, earned First-Team All-Southern States Athletic Conference accolades as a sophomore, was a Second-Team All-SSAC and the Musco Lighting Champion of Character selection as a junior, a three-time SSAC All-Academic team members and two-time NAIA Scholar Athlete.
 
On the field, Wyatt finished with a career .360 batting average, collecting 103 hits in 286 at bats. She posted 14 extra-base hits, including a home run in her sophomore season, drove in 14 runs and stole 23 bases. She also scored 55 runs. During her first season with the program, Wyatt posted a .384 batting average, a mark which is still the sixth-best season average in the program's history. Her career mark also ranks in the top five in the history of the program.
 
Following graduation from AUM, Wyatt attending the University of Missouri, where she earned her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 2016. She is currently a full-time Associate Emergency Veterinarian at Cobb's Ford Pet Health Center in Prattville, Ala. She is married to Cole Wyatt, the brother of her former teammate, Whitney Wyatt.
 
For more information on what Stacin is doing and how AUM played a role in her professional success, please check out the Q&A below.
 
1. Where are you living now and what are you doing? Did you know you always wanted to do what you are doing professionally?
I am currently living in Greenville, Alabama and work as a full-time Associate Emergency Veterinarian at Cobb's Ford Pet Health Center in Prattville, Alabama. I have known that I wanted to become a Veterinarian since I was six years old. I have always had a passion for animals and knew I would be doing something in the medical field. I've been able to see some animals overcome overwhelming odds to pull through situations they shouldn't have and it's a blessing to be able to work in a field that I love. 
 
2. How did your time as a student and student-athlete at AUM prepare you for your career and life after college?
When I attended AUM, that was my first time living away from home. I moved from Anaheim, California to attend AUM and when I got to Alabama, I did not know anyone. Prior to AUM, I was introverted and quiet so moving allowed me to learn how to open up, embrace new experiences, and make new friends. Since then, I have changed a lot as a person, learned to seize new opportunities and I have moved two other times. After AUM, I moved to Columbia, Missouri to attend the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine from 2012-2016 and after graduating I moved down to Greenville, AL to live with my husband. I have had many positive and encouraging influences during my time of transition and growth that gave me the courage to take chances.   
 
3. What are your goals for the near future in regards to your career?  Do you have a plan for the next 2-3 years?
I recently changed jobs in pursuit of advancing my clinical and surgical knowledge in the Veterinary field. After graduating, I started a small, mixed practice in Greenville, Ala., and found that I loved the unexpected and challenging cases that didn't fall under the normal appointment schedule. I developed a passion for emergency medicine and surgery during my clinical years of veterinary school and that grew during my first years in general practice. I started at Cobb's Ford Pet Health Center in March 2019 as their overnight emergency veterinarian to follow my passion for that type of medicine so we will see where that takes me!
  
4. When is the last time you've been to campus. How has the campus changed?
It's been several years since I spent any time on campus, but I have driven by a few times recently and it's great to see how much its grown. Since I've graduated, there has been a new dormitory built and the Wellness Center was built but had not opened yet. It's great to see the campus expanding and growing to provide more student resources.
 
5. What originally attracted you to AUM as a student-athlete?
To be honest, AUM was an opportunity that sort of fell into my lap. My sister was being recruited to play softball at Marion Military Institute in Marion, AL and while I was attending her recruitment trip, I was introduced to AUM. Fortunately, Coach Wilcoxson was looking for an outfielder over the summer and although she never saw me play, she recruited me based on my stats and I moved! AUM was an opportunity to continue playing softball while I continued my academic career in pursuit of veterinary school. 
 
6. What are some of your most memorable moments from your time as a student-athlete at AUM?
There are only a few select games that stand out to me in my memory but one of my favorites was when we played the University of Mobile on the road and we were on the verge of getting run-ruled in the 5^th inning.  We came together as a team and were able to get the needed outs in the top of the inning despite the winning run being on 3^rd base. During the bottom of the 5^th inning, we started a rally that allowed us to come back and beat them. I will never forget that rally and the teamwork that it took to beat that team that day. 
 
The first spring break I had at AUM, my mother flew down to Orange Beach to watch the tournament because I was so homesick the week before and she knew it. She didn't tell me she was flying in – she just showed up on the bleachers at the start of our first game and one of my teammates asked if that was my mom in the stands! I couldn't believe my eyes – I started crying immediately! It was the best surprise I ever had! 
 
I remember some memories from the games – the home runs my teammates hit when we needed it, the close wins, the close losses, but really, I remember the girls that I played with. I remember the tough workouts we endured together and the hundreds of laughs we shared. I had teammates who pushed me to be a better player and work harder and others who were encouragement and support when I needed that too. We played hundreds of games and traveled hundreds of miles on that bus and together we got the first ever win for AUM softball. We were the first softball team. We built that field – literally! As a senior, I was given a shadow box with a small bottle of the dirt from that field – it was a perfect way to end my career there because I lived my life on that red dirt! 
 
7. How often do you keep in touch with your former teammates?
Throughout the years, unfortunately, I have drifted away from teammates but luckily with social media, I can keep up with some of them. I am fortunate enough to always be connected with Whitney Wyatt who is now my sister is law! Her brother and I started dating while I was a sophomore at AUM and got married while I was in Veterinary School in 2014.
 
8. How would you summarize your time at AUM?
AUM was a place that allowed me to come out of my shell and become a more independent person while pursuing my dream of becoming a veterinarian. It provided challenges that I didn't expect and allowed me to get involved on campus with organizations that shaped who I am today. I tried new things, met new friends, travelled, found love, and gained my bachelor's degree which allowed me to move forward.  I am a proud graduate of AUM and I am so thankful for the many opportunities I had while I attended. 
 
9. What advice would you have for the current student-athletes at AUM?
The best advice I can give to other student athletes is to really stop and think about why you love the sport you play. Most of us have been playing this sport our whole lives and for many, it stops after we graduate from AUM. Embrace the smells of the field/court, the sounds of the game, and the feeling you have when you play because it will become foreign to you eventually. In high school, I would have never imagined leaving California, moving to Alabama to play softball, moving to Missouri to become a doctor and then move back down to the south to be with the man I fell in love with when I was here the first time. Seize opportunities when they come your way because God has a plan for you and most of the time, it's so much better than you imagined it would be! 
 
10. Anything else you would like to share with the AUM community?
Don't be afraid of new opportunities and see them as a chance to meet new people or travel somewhere new – you never know what that will for your life!