Senior Alexandra Dingman converted her lifelong love of horseback riding into a yearlong interdisciplinary senior thesis in education, psychology and sociology. On the way, she co-founded Mainstreaming, a small therapeutic riding program at the Lake Auburn Equestrian Center. And she fell in love — with a horse named Riley — which she bought, boards at a nearby barn, and considers her "best friend."

It's been a busy and demanding time for the Winchester, Mass., native, who received a 2004 Arthur Crafts Service-Learning Grant from Bates to pay for 12 weeks of lessons for two local autistic children. "Watching their progress and connecting it to my research has been immensely rewarding," she says.

Dingman appreciates the tremendous support provided by her primary thesis adviser, Anne Dodd. A member of the education department, Dodd has high standards and expectations, says Dingman, "but I love my project so I spend more time on it than anything else." Professor of Psychology Kathryn Low has helped Dingman with her knowledge of autism, therapy and horses.

Therapeutic riding for autism is fairly new, Dingman says. "It offers a bit of everything," she says, including social interaction and verbal skills that prompt eye contact and conversation from the children. "They really have to focus," she says. "The two children I work with demonstrate the broad spectrum of autism, but both have a natural way around horses. And it gets them doing something that's special. Riding a horse, no matter who you are, is pretty cool."