When Tatiana Zeadker sings, people listen.
Between her extensive range and warm tone, Zeadker has the vocal ability and skill to draw in a crowd.
Tatiana Zeadker graduates in May with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in women’s and gender studies. At UToledo she found her career purpose: a feminist therapist who draws upon her own struggles to help other women in theirs.
With dreams of traveling abroad and singing opera to sold-out theaters, the senior UToledo student began her college career at Bowling Green State University majoring in vocal performance.
But the long days at school required of a vocal performance major weighed on her enjoyment of singing, and soon she found herself reconsidering her choices.
After her first year of college, she transferred to The University of Toledo and switched her major to psychology.
“Passions burn out but purposes don’t,” Zeadker said. “Singing may be my passion but my purpose is that I want to give therapy.
“I had a pretty weird upbringing, it wasn’t so great with my family, there was some abuse,” she said. “When you grow up and don’t really know who to talk to, you want to be that person when you get the chance.”
After an introductory course in women’s and gender studies, Zeadker saw the need to hear the perspectives of other women.
“I realized I don’t know a lot. Women’s history isn’t taught a lot,” she said. “I want to be a feminist therapist. I want women to be able to come to me and feel comfortable talking about whatever background they come from and for me to be able to identify with that.”
Dr. Sharon Barnes has worked alongside Zeadker for years. She described Zeadker as fiercely determined with a deep sense of justice.
“Tatiana has some very unique interests and experiences that make her well-poised for a bright future helping others,” Barnes said. “The combination of her academic interests in women’s studies and psychology are going to make her a great feminist therapist, and the world needs more of those.”
Zeadker will graduate in May with a degree in psychology and a minor in women’s and gender studies.
The next step in her journey is to get a master’s degree in social work and then a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.
Reflecting on her time at college, she said she missed out on a lot of opportunities on campus.
She hadn’t experienced her first football game until this November — she had been too busy with work.
Zeadker started babysitting at age 13 to help support her family. When she turned 15, she began working 30 hours a week, in addition to high school and taking college courses.
Now she works full time at Target as well as being a full-time student.
“I really don’t sleep a lot,” she joked. “I drink a lot of Celsius drinks.”
The one thing Zeadker has managed to fit into her packed schedule is working out.
“When I was in middle school, I developed a really bad eating disorder,” she said. “As I outgrew that and worked through that into high school, I realized, If I can build my body, I’m not so worried about how it looks and more about what it can do.”
As well as working out six times a week, Zeadker also coaches weightlifting. It’s an experience she said she hopes to bring into her career.
“What I want to do, once I open my practice, is facilitate a weightlifting group for those experiencing body dysmorphia or lack of confidence,” she said, “and then I can coach them into doing what I did.”
Barnes said Zeadker is poised to make a positive impact on others in her career.
“Tatiana is a wonderful, giving person,” she said. “She has internalized the idea that ‘the personal is political’ in a way that is going to make a powerfully positive difference in a lot of people’s lives.”
