A national honor society for community college psychology students has been revived at Citrus College.
Due to a lack of leadership, the club was deactivated three years ago.
Jeffrey Thompson, a fairly new adjunct professor, initiated the reactivation of Psi Beta.
The club was pitched to students and faculty in spring 2015 and became officially implemented in fall 2015.
Thompson recalled being a member of a Psychology honor society for a four year university and how it benefited him.
“I remember how great it was just to be involved and see my fellow students outside of class, and I want to make sure that we have that here,” Thompson said.
Thompson said one of his goals for the club is to bring home a chapter award from the annual awards given by Psi Beta.
Thompson sent emails to all Citrus psychology professors, asking them to share the news with their students and anyone else who might be interested.
Psychology student Malak Elawamry, president of Psi Beta, said she emailed Thompson the second she heard about the club starting up again.
“I did not know what to do with my major, and I thought this club would help me out,” Elawamry said.
She is planning to spur field trips and promote community service, specifically at the City of Hope, a leading research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases, next semester.
“I want this club to be fun and engaging for students, not something stressful or that they have to worry about,” Elawamry said.
Psi Beta is not just for psychology majors. Anyone who is interested in the subject may participate, Thompson said.
“Everybody benefits from learning about psychology,” Thompson said. “It is a study of people’s behavior. It is something that we do automatically as humans.”
The requirements to join Psi Beta are a completion of one psychology class with an A or B, at least 12 completed units at Citrus College, no prior law infractions and a minimum GPA of 3.25.
Thompson said in the past, the same students who were active in the Psychology Club were also in Psi Beta, so it was easier to combine the two.
“If someone is ineligible for Psi Beta for one semester, for whatever reason, they can still be part of the group and still participate in the activities,” Thompson said.
Kayla Devilla, 20, psychology major and vice president of Psi Beta, said the club is planning to host speakers for members.
Devilla said they already had a speech from Thompson at a meeting about the field of psychology, how to get to graduate school and the different career paths psychology majors can take.
Other Citrus College psychology professors have expressed interest in speaking to the members of Psi Beta.
But Devilla said she hopes to invite other psychology professionals in the field.
“It would be cool to have someone outside of Citrus come and talk to us,” Devilla said.
Thompson said the club is new and still shaping their personal mission and that it is all exciting to think about.
“I’m hoping that this club will impact Citrus in a positive way,” Thompson said.
