A newsletter for the students, faculty and staff of the Collin County Community College District. Published monthly. For information or submissions, call 972.758.3849. Cougar News welcomes student and faculty submissions. Next deadline: January 12 All submissions are due by 5 p.m. on the due date. Photos cannot be returned. Text should be emailed to mrobinson@ccccd.edu or sent on disk. Please submit copy that is proofed, edited and saved in Word format. Cougar News staff: Lisa Vasquez, director; Mark Robinson, editor; Marcy Cadena-Smith, contributor; Sydney Portilla-Diggs, student correspondent; Stephanie Hall, student correspondent; Nick Young, photographer; Layout by Publications
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Psi Beta networks at recent mixer
By Kelley Bowman
Special Contributor
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| The recent Psi Beta mixer brought Collin and university students together and prompted some hands-on exercises. |
A fun-filled evening of Legos and psychology trivia…must be Psi Beta.
Collin’s chapter of Psi Beta hosted its first annual mixer Nov. 16. Collin put on the event to provide opportunities for team building, networking, increasing awareness of Psi Beta and upholding the chapter’s core value, to foster a scholarly community. Psi Beta is the national honor society in psychology for community and junior colleges. After its re-activation in 1997, Psi Beta has offered Collin students many opportunities in the field of psychology, such as active, hands-on research.
Psychology major Kim Tanuvasa served as Psi Beta president from 2004-05 and now plans to pursue a doctorate in counseling psychology with special interest in counseling women and children of domestic violence and sexual abuse. She enjoys Psi Beta because the organization’s focus is on students working together to excel.
“The research we have been involved in helped us gain vital research skills, strengthened our writing and analytical skills, and built a strong foundation for teamwork. All the things we’ve learned, although not traditionally offered at two-year schools, will certainly help us excel in graduate school,” Tanuvasa said.
Currently, advisors Jennifer Brooks and Valerie Smith are working towards a shadowing program between Collin and its four-year dual admissions partner colleges who have Psi Beta’s sister honor society, Psi Chi.
“By facilitating contacts between campuses, students at Collin would be afforded the opportunity to have first-hand accounts of the areas of interest and expertise of faculty from the surrounding university communities,” said Valerie Smith, chair and professor of Behavioral Sciences.
To expand their network, Collin invited advisors and students of university programs who have Psi Chi chapters, such as the University of North Texas (UNT) and Texas A&M University-Commerce.
After she completes her basic courses at Collin, Chrystal Martz, Psi Beta historian, plans to transfer to UNT. At the mixer, she had the chance to talk to students from UNT.
“It [meeting the other students] will benefit us so much, not just for Psi Beta but also on a personal level. It gave the transfer students a chance to see what comes next, and it gave both sides a contact for when more research is needed,” Martz said.
Shirley Allen, Psi Beta president and a psychology major who plans to earn a doctorate from Southern Methodist University in the philosophy of psychology, also felt that the mixer was a great networking tool.
“Our hope was to create a networking opportunity between all local Psi Betas and Psi Chis as the natural transition from Psi Beta is to Psi Chi. Ideally, I would like to work as a larger team on research and community service opportunities within our scholarly district,” Allen said.
The Psi Beta officers and advisors planned an evening full of team building, ice-breakers, networking, brainstorming, collaborating, social interaction and the creation of a student directory.
“President Shirley Allen and the officers of Psi Beta all were integral in the planning of this mixer,” Brooks, professor of psychology, said.
The officers decorated the Spring Creek Campus Conference Center tables with purple and gold table clothes and designated each table with a place marker featuring the picture and name of a psychologist – Freud, Skinner and Adler to name a few. Former Psi Beta president Kim Tanuvasa opened the mixer with psychology trivia.
After the quiz, Allen had the 22 students and advisors in attendance divide into three teams and gave them a set of Legos to build without a picture to model their creation.
“The game had more to do with team building, working together to reach a common goal, than psychology. Since we’re all psychology majors, I was hoping to present the effectiveness and fun of working as a team,” said Allen.
After the models were built, an impartial judge chose the creation that looked most like the picture on the box of the Lego set. Psi Beta officers Sham Masri, Nick Guido, Megan Leto, and Chrystal Martz won the challenge.
“It [the game] showed how creative some people were and gave us the chance to learn about each other,” Martz said.
The evening ended with the compilation of the student directory, and the students mingling. Advisor Valerie Smith commented that the mixer went very well.
“The planning of the event was very capably handled by Collin’s officers, and the evening’s events were designed to promote both interaction and scholarship. The combination made for an effective opportunity to bridge between campuses,” said Smith.
For more information on Psi Beta, please contact Jennifer Brooks at 972.578.5512 or Valerie Smith at 972.578.5533.
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