The Mt. SAC psychology club provides students with the opportunities to discuss everything regarding psychology, including career pathways, research opportunities and the chance to present at conferences. The club provides students with the support of psychology advisers, the ability to gain experience handling psychological data and information on the different career pathways that psychology offers.
According to Jennifer Perez, psychology club president, the club sometimes brings an alum to speak to give the students more of a perspective of what it was like when they were their themselves.
“It kind of gives inspiration to the students or it just shows them, ‘Okay, I’m not that lost. I may feel lost now, but this gives them some direction,’” Perez said.
The club is not directed at only psychology majors, but for all students interested in psychology. The club combines three different subjects that previously stood alone as their own clubs; one group was more of a social gathering of psychology students, and there was a mental health awareness club, as well as Psi Beta.
These are combined through a mixture of alumni speakers, possible collaborations with other minority clubs on campus to increase mental health awareness in their clubs and advisers to assist in the research that occurs in Psi Beta.
Psi Beta is more directed towards research and also provides students with the possibility to present at research conferences such as the Western Psychology Conference, known as the WPA. The club has hosted several events in the past, which included workshops with psychology counselors, where they help direct students into career paths.
“One semester, they visited a psychiatric ward to see how that works,” Perez said. “We have also done walks for suicide prevention.” Perez said that they have done many things off-campus, but their main goal is to help students on campus figure out what they want to do with the major.
For Perez, what encouraged her to be president was seeing how the club was run in the past and wanting to do more with it.
“I wanted us not to just have students interact, but I also wanted them to gain something from it so they know where they’re going,” Perez said.
She wanted students to be aware that there were more paths they could take besides just being a therapist. Perez said the club has helped her get out of her shell with the help of the advisers Stacy Bacigalupi and Shiloh Blacksher. According to Perez, they have both been encouraging of students and their endeavors in the club.
Students interested in joining the club can stop by during their meetings, which are held every Tuesday from 3 to 4 p.m. in building 26D, room 3210. The only requirement to join the club is the $10 membership fee that has to be paid per semester. Students also have the option to pay $15 to cover the entirety of the semester. This money all goes back to the students so they are able to both host events and attend them. Psi Beta requires that students have a GPA of 3.2 overall, at least B’s in psychology courses and a $50 fee that covers lifetime membership.