A chance to network, a chance to grow, and a chance to gain real-world experience, that's what the Western Psychological Association Conference is all about. Three of the Maricopa Community College District's colleges attended the event in Irvine, California, earlier this month to expose psychology students to professionals in the field and help them gain experience in presenting their research.
Brittany Cooper, Jessica Garcia, Jennifer Lanzaro, Catalina Rodriguez, and Yvette Wilburn, all members of Estrella Mountain's Honor Society in Psychology, Psi Beta, not only attended the conference, but presented their two research projects to a national group of psychologists and college students.
"Having this experience under our belts will only help us in the future," said Catalina Rodriguez, president of Psi Beta. "Being at the conference and seeing what other students, professors, doctors, and other leaders in the field are doing gives us a solid background on how to conduct ourselves in situations like this - academically and professionally."
This is the first official semester that Psi Beta has convened on the Estrella Mountain campus. Dr. Chris Coleman, Psi Beta director and psychology faculty at the college, worked hard to form the group and gather students to participate. He and Dr. Bill Farrar, psychology faculty, had discussed the opportunity with their psychology students and helped them through the funding process, doing their research, writing their abstracts, and accompanying them to the conference.
For more information about Psi Beta, contact Dr. Chris Coleman at 623-935-8952.