By Spencer Anderson
Every student-athlete has their own unique story: the factors that shape a person's character and motivates their dreams will be different for everyone.
The same can be said for Dominique Keel, WSU's senior women's track captain from Beaverton, Ore. The 5-foot, 3 inch Cougar sprinter had plenty of people to guide her as she was growing up.
"I think the saying 'it takes a village' is so true because there are just so many people that have influenced me," Keel said.
That influence started with her parents, Dorothy and Derrick Keel, who encouraged her to try everything. That was what helped spark an interest in track, and eventually prompted her desire to study sociology. When her father passed away when she was 15, that “village” was there to comfort her.
"That's a big part of why I want to go into social work," Keel said. "When that happened, I had a great support system, like church and family. There were so many people there for me, so I want to be that for somebody else who doesn't have that support system."
A member of Pullman's Resonate Church, Keel's career aspirations are to work with at-risk children, youth, and families, but she is also inclined to go into ministry. She led a group of nearly 20 people last year during a weekly study session called Athlete Village, where student-athletes could come together, enjoy a meal, and discuss the sermon from the previous Sunday in a relaxed setting.
"There's always people who push me closer to Christ and who are there to support me," Keel said. "When I got a chance to lead Athlete Village last year and found it was just great being able to lead, it really inspired me to want to go into ministry. I know so many people's lives have been changed by the work of that church, so it's been really cool to be able to watch that grow."
Working with people is nothing new for Keel, though, and as a track captain, it's something she's doing all the time.
"It's an honor (to be a captain)," Keel said. "I love my team to death, so to be able to have the position to lead out on what we do is really humbling. I just really love who I'm surrounded by, so I don't feel like I'm the one who's necessarily leading because I'm learning so much from them! It's just a good position for me to be able to enhance my leadership skills, especially going into social work and having to learn to lead people, that's been pretty cool."
Keel certainly leads on the track as well, holding the fifth-best women's 100m time in WSU history and being a member of last season's 4x100m relay team that ran the second-fastest time in school records.
Even when she's not competing, she's still likely to be around members of the track team. Keel said her teammates try to do as many things together as they can.
"I love watching movies, and just hanging out with friends," Keel said. "I'm also always around my team, honestly, just hanging out with them and going to do different things. We once did team-bonding by going to play laser tag. It was super fun not to focus on running, just being normal and not worrying about obligations on the track."
While Keel is close with everyone, she notes that fellow senior sprinter Christiana Ekelem is her best friend. They competed on both the 400m relay and the 1600m relay squads that advanced to the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, with 17th and 21st-place finishes respectively.
Enthusiastic for the future, Keel, who was selected the WSU Department of Sociology's 2015 Exceptional Senior, plans to go to graduate school and earn a Master's degree in social work. With the experiences she's had and the leadership qualities she possesses, she plans to be able to give to those who need that friend and support in times of need.