Raymond Scott He may not be taking on the Tour de France any time soon, but it would not be uncommon to find Raymond Scott on a midnight bike ride with one of the many cycling clubs to which he belongs. When it comes to cycling he says he’s “no professional by any means,” but last summer Scott completed the AIDS ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco, an amateur Tour de France in its own right. “What really hooked me was the midnight rides,” Scott said, describing the long spring rides when the “air is nice and fresh, and there’s not a lot of traffic and things in the way.” Scott is a member of various cycling clubs so that he always has a variety of activities to choose from. “It was incredible to have so many other like-minded individuals dedicated to this cause,” says Scott, who enjoyed the support and fun on the three-day AIDS ride. In addition to midnight rides, there are weekend rides and often a combination of biking with hiking. “That’s challenging when you’re hiking in the mountains, but then take a break, have a hike and have a picnic before you have to go back. It’s a rather nice activity,” he says. Scott has been cycling for about 10 years, although his love for riding goes back to his childhood when he remembers having a 10-speed racer. The clubs were something that followed. “When I started college, I was fortunate to meet up with people who had the same interest.” He now tries to ride each day for about a mile or so. Scott is also learning to sail at the UCLA aquatics school. He completed a research fellowship at UCLA five years ago, and one of the other fellows told him about the school. So because he was too terrified to kayak, he chose sailing. Despite being an outdoors person in many ways, Scott says one of his favorite hobbies is curling up in a nice chair and reading. He enjoys books about spirituality and philosophy, believing spirituality is a larger domain than religion. “Spirituality is something that really interests me,” he says. ”I hope to research how to use it to help people therapeutically.” As a speech and language pathology major, Scott was working with kids who had articulation problems. He says often there were psychological issues involved because of speech difficulties and he eventually realized that was the part of the work that fascinated him the most. “People fascinate me,” Scott says. “We have so many experiences whether spiritual, psychological or emotional, that sometimes either terrify a person and they somehow get stuck there. It’s sometimes a challenge to help people get there. When I help people experience, that it’s just a profound satisfaction.” Scott also enjoy research and has a two-year fellowship with the National Institute of Health, researching disparities for ethnic, racial and sexual minorities, and taking a look at the quality and availability of health care in general. “As a professor, I have this tremendous curiosity,” Scott says. “I crave learning. I’m open to new experiences and that allows me to be a better instructor; to challenge students to not only learn knowledge, but push the envelope and think in new ways about psychology.” The student culture is something Scott really enjoys about ULV. For three years he served as the faculty adviser for the Rainbow Alliance, something he has been involved with at other colleges. He says it was a coincidence that he came to ULV at the same time as a student who was also interested in reviving the campus’s chapter. “I thought it was an important piece in the campus climate,” he says. The group ended up sparking support not only with students, but faculty as well. He likes that ULV is supportive of GLBT persons because many campuses are not. RETURN TO FACULTY LISTmailto:rscott@ulv.edu?subject=HELLOHome.htmlshapeimage_1_link_1
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