Traci Giuliano's campus office is not what some might consider a "typical" professor's workspace. Sure, there is the standard bookshelf overflowing with every psychology publication imaginable. What is most striking, however, is her remarkable collection of sports and celebrity memorabilia.

Whether it's the framed 1999 U.S. Women's World Cup t-shirt, autographed by members of the team, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ "terrible towel," or the framed and autographed pictures of stars such as Ted Danson, Matthew Broderick, and Sarah Jessica Parker – they all represent Giuliano.

"I've played soccer since I was seven, so I'm a big supporter of the U.S. women's team. Mia Hamm's father was my first soccer coach, and I'm still close to her family. My parents grew up in Pittsburgh. I'm a Steeler fanatic. I got the autographs while I was a graduate student at UCLA. I would always see celebrities in frozen yogurt stores. I don't know why, but they really like frozen yogurt there."

While an undergraduate student at the University of Texas, Giuliano played on the women's club soccer team until she tore her anterior cruciate ligament and had to leave the team. Her knee long since healed, she now gets her kicks playing for the Austin Allies, an over-30 women's team that finished second in a national tournament last year. Once a year, her team scrimmages the Southwestern women's soccer team, many of whom are Giuliano's psychology students.

Her favorite soccer experience, however, came as a spectator at the 1999 Women's World Cup won by the United States. "It was awe-inspiring," she recalls. "Nearly one-hundred thousand people screaming and cheering for women's soccer. It gave me chills!"

Giuliano is known for her outgoing personality and a willingness to share her personal life with students. She says those parts of her personality were developed by having to adapt quickly to new environments growing up. With her father in the military, she attended 12 schools in 12 years. Although she's lived all over the country, she says she's a Texan at heart. "I've spent more of my life in Texas than anywhere else, just not enough time to develop the accent."

She says she loves mentoring students, working on collaborative research, and seeing them published. "I love watching them grow up to be sophisticated scholars and go on to great graduate programs. I'm a cheerleader and a champion for my students. They are so smart and motivated. I always think they can't keep coming in so smart, but they just get better every year."

One of those students, psychology senior Jennifer Knight, was recently honored by USA Today as a member of their prestigious All-Academic Team. Knight was one of only three Texas university students named to the team.

Giuliano has been at Southwestern since 1994, and says she is enjoying a new sense of permanence in her life with her spouse Alan Swinkels, a professor of psychology at St. Edward's University in Austin. The two are expecting their first child next fall (it's a girl). "When I found out I was pregnant, I took the sonogram video and played it for my class. They've been sweeter and more excited about this than anyone – even my family! I've got plenty of babysitters already lined up."

"My life is exactly how I want it. I've got the perfect job, the perfect family, and I live in Austin, my favorite part of the planet. This is my last job. I've decided I'm going to retire here. It would be too hard to get all this stuff out of my office anyway."

-Greg Holland