The brain is a mysterious and often difficult organ to understand, especially when it comes to feelings and other psychological processes. Luckily, the Psychology Club is here to help students learn more about what is going on inside their heads.
“It’s about learning more about psychology,” Kendra Key, a senior psychology major and club secretary said. “We can give [students] insight on what psychology is, what the club is about and what the psychology profession has to offer them.”
The organization has been a staple at CWU for over 20 years. Associate Professor of Psychology Wendy Williams, Ph.D., is the club advisor and she has been with the club since the beginning. Kennedy Emard, a senior in psychology, is the current president.
“I think I personally bring a sense of wanting to include others,“ Emard said. “I have a ton of empathy for people and was born with this empathic personality that I’m able to bring to the club and make sure everyone feels their words are being heard. That’s where I think leadership comes from. Being able to put yourself in the shoes of others and knowing what they’re going through and knowing from their side how you can help them.”
The club meetings consist of psychological topics and talks from professors and professionals in the field.
So far this quarter, two professors and one psychology professional have spoken to the club. Dr Fred Washburn, an assistant professor of psychology at CWU, was the favorite among all sources.
“He teaches Clinical Community and Counseling Psychology,” Emard said. “That was one of my favorite classes, so I got him to come in.”
Dr. Washburn spent that meeting talking about the “Do’s and Don’ts of Grad School.”
“Don’t show up for the interview drunk,” Key joked “Get your application in on time. But also important steps in the process, like our interview skills, what to put on your application and what to put on a personal statement that actually exemplifies who you are.”
Some meetings hit close to home. Sleep paralysis was one of those topics, as a few of the club members and Pastor Flores, a sophomore business and psychology major and club development officer, suffer from the condition.
“When it happens to me, my eyes are open and I can see the room, but I can’t move my body,” Flores said. “No matter how hard I try, I can’t move, and usually I see a shadow out my window. Some people see demons or creepy things come into their room. I’ve learned to manage it where I’m just like, ‘its sleep paralysis, I’m okay and I’ll lay here until it goes away.’”
Every year the club raises money to go to the Washington Psychology Association (WTA) convention in April.
“We could potentially meet with grad schools there,” Jadvir Gill, a sophomore psychology major and treasurer of the club said. “Famous psychologists like Philip Zimbardo and other researchers and professors presenting their own research, trying to get their name out there.”Jack_Lambert