About

Tyler Makosy was born and raised in the small town of Ijamsville, Maryland. He attended and graduated from Urbana High School, where he wrestled all four years. Tyler’s favorite part of growing up in Ijamsville was how centralized the city was; about an hour from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, and just a couple from New Jersey and Delaware. This sparked a love for adventure in Tyler, which led to a desire of finding new places to visit. Tyler credits this, in part, for his decision to attend UNCP. It was far enough away that he would get to experience a new part of the country, but close enough to home for him to feel comfortable. 

Tyler graduated from UNCP with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sports science. Tyler wrestled all four years on UNCP’s wrestling team, receiving three Academic All-American awards; he hopes he can receive a fourth during his senior season. His performance academically and athletically allowed Tyler to be eligible to receive the Adolphus Lee Turner Wrestling Scholarship. Tyler says that being chosen to be the recipient of this scholarship was a great honor. He also interned in the Athletic Department on campus, serving as a strength and conditioning assistant. Additionally, Tyler has worked as an academic coach for TRIO, which is a student support service on campus.  

Connecting his love for sports and his mother’s psychology major, Tyler chose to conduct his senior project on sports psychology. His research focused mainly on the differences in sports competence in different athletes. Working with his mentor, Dr. Peter Ormsby, Tyler studied different factors that affect an athlete’s performance in training versus during competition. The factors included motivation, gender, and experience. 

Currently, Tyler is working as a graduate assistant in the Counseling and Phycology Services (CAPS) office. He is hoping to join the coaching staff for the UNCP wrestling team. Of his experience in the Maynor Honors College, Tyler loved the smaller class sizes that allowed more discussion.  Tyler advises future students looking to attend the Honors college to “be grateful, do not overlook opportunities, and to take advantage of your time at UNCP.”