Grand Valley State University’s Psychology Club is filled with those interested in learning and discussing anything related to psychology.
With different events throughout the semester, the club aims to educate students about the major and encourage students to get involved on campus.
“I love meeting other students with a shared passion for psychology. As a senior, I love seeing underclassmen getting involved in our major who are eager to learn more. In the midst of a global mental health crisis, encouraging the next generation of mental health professionals is so rewarding,” said Abigail Graffenius vice president of the Psychology club.
Like many clubs around campus, members also take the opportunity to get to know others with the same interest in psychology.
“There were so many people there, and it was really nice to get to see some new faces, especially being on a campus that can feel big, this helped to make it feel more individualized and smaller,” said member Falisha May.
The club has a variety of events that are both social and informational such as an undergraduate research panel. This panel featured guest speakers Christine Smith and Glenn Valdez from the GVSU Psychology Department. At the event, students were encouraged to ask questions and learn more about undergraduate research.
“It was great because it can sometimes be scary feeling alone through the challenging time of education navigation, but it’s comforting to know that there are so many GV faculty that are willing to help,” May said.
The Psychology Club also has social events such as Ice Cream Socials and Movie Nights with Pizza. In October, the organization held a Halloween Craft Night for members to have the opportunity to talk about psychology with fellow peers and socialize while also making crafts to de-stress from midterms.
Now as the semester comes to a close, one of the last things the club will be doing this semester is hosting an event with Psi Chi and Psych Friends. Students will have the opportunity to volunteer to decorate bags for a kid’s food basket while exploring the two other clubs in attendance.
“It’s so fun to chat with other people interested in psych and get to know my peers outside of class. It’s such a fun atmosphere,” said Ana Ahmed, event coordinator of the Psychology Club.
Prior to this year, the organization was only open to those majoring or minoring in the study. However, this semester the Psychology Club became open to anyone interested in the subject and wanting to learn more. In addition to this change, much of the Eboard is new this year as well.
“When referring to the Eboard and the ‘behind-the-scenes’ aspect, I have learned a lot about teamwork and really how teamwork can make the dream work,” Ahmed said.
Overall, the Eboard members work hard during the year to make events fun to attend and aim to have everyone who does attend leave with a new perspective or piece of information about the field of psychology.
“I hope psych club members will leave each meeting feeling inspired to get involved on campus, and making other friends with similar interests,” Graffenius said.
