Welcome to Student Group Spotlight! Every month, we will feature a different student group to demonstrate the many diverse groups we have at MacEwan and how they all contribute to a vibrant, thriving community on our campus.
Meet the Student Psychology Network (SPN)! We sat down with their executive team to discuss what they offer, how they create unique networking opportunities and what they hope students learn from their group.
SAMU: Hi, welcome to the SAMU Student Groups Spotlight! Let’s get started by telling me a bit about yourselves.
Nickki: Hi, I’m Nickki Kamprath. I am the President of SPN, and I’m in my sixth year of a psychology major and I finished the Honours program.
Avery: Hi, I’m Avery Shupac, the Vice President Admin of SPN. I’m in my fourth year of the Bachelor of Arts Psychology program, minoring in sociology and specializing in criminology.
Sonia: Hi, my name is Sonia Yussuf, and I am the Vice President of Finance at SPN. I’m in the third year of my art degree in psychology, minoring in finance, and working towards getting into the Honours program.
Abby: Hi, I’m Abby Oloriz, the Vice President Internal of SPN, and I also take care of our social media. I’m in my third year of a Bachelor of Science in the psychology Honours program with a minor in human resources.
SAMU: What is the Student Psychology Network, and what do you do?
Nickki: SPN is a student group for anyone interested in psychology; you don’t have to major or minor in it, anyone can come to any of our events. Although we offer information events specific to psych students, like our Honours Q&A, we also host various social events and speaker series with professors and industry professionals.
SAMU: Why did you join SPN? What is your favourite part about being a
member?
Nickki: This is my third year with SPN. I started as the VP Internal and made my way to being the President. My favourite memory of SPN is from my first year when I took on the planning and execution of our first Halloween speaker event. I worked with Dr. Rodney Schmaltz to host a haunted house-themed talk. We decorated the space to be Halloween-themed, and we had over 80 people show up, which was impressive considering it was our first-ever event.
Avery: I joined to get more involved with the student community. I found that throughout my degree, I knew people, but I wanted to create more friendships and gain experience in the psychology field. Being able to talk to people about their experiences and learn from them instead of just learning from courses has been eye-opening. It also sparked my interest in what I want to do after my degree. My favourite part about this group is meeting new people and chatting with the executives. The recent Student Groups Expo was really fun. Meeting people interested in joining gives me such a sense of joy.
Sonia: I joined SPN because I’m studying psychology, and I felt it was the best way to see what MacEwan truly offers. After minoring in finance, I witnessed how important networking is and worked to make connections through this group I can rely on. Our group executes networking perfectly because we don’t just focus on students, but we focus on faculty, too. Approaching faculty can be intimidating, but our group will encourage you to push yourself and chat with them.
Abby: In my first and second years, I felt like I was chugging along in the dark. I found it challenging to connect and find people with similar interests. Over the summer of my second year, I decided I wanted to get more out of my degree rather than just going to classes, so I emailed SPN, and Nickki answered! I wanted to get more involved in the community, and it just so happened that an executive spot had opened up, so that’s when I joined. My favourite part has been that I get much more out of my degree now. I learn about events, I’m doing things outside of class and making friends, and that’s really important.
SAMU: How can students join your network? What can someone expect when they become a member?
Avery: Students can reach out to us on Instagram (@macewanpsychology) or email us (macewanspn@gmail.com). We love answering your questions and inquiries; we will forward messages to the most knowledgeable people if we don’t know the answer. You can also find us on Student Groups Connect and join as a member using your mymacewan email. Even if you’re not a member, you’re welcome to join any of our events. We see a lot of success with our social events, and people are making connections and getting the word out about our group. We’ve had students from other faculties join our events and become members, so it’s really simple and easy to join.
Sonia: What you can expect from the group when you join is lots of social events, Honours panel, research opportunities and more.
Abby: Yeah, our Honours panel is an opportunity for students to speak with our volunteers and ask questions about the psychology Honours program. We want them to be able to learn about it from a student’s perspective and understand what’s being offered.
SAMU: What networking opportunities do you offer or facilitate?
Sonia: We facilitate a lot of networking, but our most recent event was our Neuro-Network Faculty edition. Students and faculty gathered to mingle and chat to learn more about psychology, research and each other. It helped to break the barrier between professor and student and open the door for future opportunities. We showcased how professors care about you and your future and want to help you!
Nickki: At all our speaker events, we encourage students to chat with the speaker afterward and ask them about their field, kinds of work, research and anything else. Students can also ask us, the executive team, about fields or work they are interested in, and we can point them in the direction of a professor who can help since we know most of them! The goal of our social events like this is to connect students since you can learn a lot from just chatting with each other, unlike when you might sit in a lecture focused on learning.
Abby: Our Instagram is also a great place to start looking for networking opportunities, along with our Facebook, Discord and Website. On our site, we keep our events page up to date, and you can find various volunteer opportunities, information on the Honours program, and more resources.
SAMU: What has it been like collaborating with Psychology students and faculty?
Avery: Everyone has been really responsive to what we’re doing and eager to get involved again! The collaboration process has been a nice way to build connections and friendships with professors. We have been able to create opportunities for future collaborations with both faculty and students through this.
Sonia: We have had a wide variety of students join us, from psychiatric nursing to business students, which has provided a lot of different perspectives and opportunities. Psychology is a popular minor here at MacEwan, and we are happy to have created a place for everyone interested to gather and work together.
Nickki: I love collaborating with faculty. It is nice getting to know professors and connecting with them on a different level than in class.
Sonia: Yeah, our faculty advisor, Dr. Tara Vongpaisal, has been fantastic to work with. She encourages us and pushes our ideas to make them as big and bright as possible.
SAMU: What kind of events do you host? What has been your favourite or most memorable event?
Nickki: We offer many speaker and panel events and social events. We usually host a grad school talk each year to chat with students and answer their questions about how to get into clinical programs, things you need to know to get into a counselling program and more. We also post all the presentation slides from these events on our website, so even if we aren’t doing a talk on a topic you want that year, you can find the past information on our site. We are always open to event suggestions from students! We want to know what you need from us, and then we can work with our network to coordinate specific events and speaker series catered to your needs.
Abby: My most memorable event was the Neuro-Network. So many people showed up, asked questions and wanted to get involved. It was amazing to see.
Sonia: When planning an event, your biggest fear is that people might not show up or like it. Hearing about and seeing how many people and professors came to Neuro-Network was amazing, and it made it my favourite event too.
Avery: My favourite event is a tie between Neuro-Network and our Halloween talk! The Halloween event had a big turnout of students who weren’t in the psychology program but were interested in our discussion. In events like these, seeing the experiences we can provide students and how happy they are makes this a memorable event.
Nickki: Yeah, we also host social events every last Tuesday of the month, and these are just for students to meet and talk about whatever they’d like!
SAMU: What do you hope students gain or learn from your group?
Nickki: I want them to have an enjoyable time and be happy!
Abby: Psychology can be very work-focused, so we hope students find time to meet other people and make their university experience more meaningful through our group.
Avery: I want students to make connections and friendships and step out of their comfort zone and study bubble. Open yourself up to new experiences and opportunities!
Sonia: I want students to create tangible goals and learn how to execute them through our group. That’s a big fear many of us have, wondering what to do after graduation, so we hope we can provide some peace and give people the courage to try new things and apply for programs they are passionate about.
SAMU: How has involvement in this Student Group shaped your university experience?
Sonia: Before I joined, I didn’t think I could get into the Honours program. But after joining, I created tangible goals and realized I could do it. I just needed to put in the work, set my mind to it, and show professors that I am passionate and curious.
Abby: University can feel lonely if you don’t find a group like this. You might feel like you’re the only one with no idea what’s happening. So, joining this group and having people go through the same feelings and experiences as you made me realize we are all in this together. It’s not as scary as you might think. Now, I can talk to younger students, share my experiences, and comfort them.
Avery: Joining this group helped me get out of my comfort zone and take on a leadership role. I’ve found that university is very individualized when you aren’t in a Student Group, so joining this group has been very beneficial for me. It helped me to learn about my future, plan out goals and learn what I can achieve.
Nickki: I’ve been in this group for a few years now and the people I’ve gotten to meet and help have been my favourite. It allowed me to get to where I am now and know what I want to do with my future in psychology. Now, I get to help other people figure out what they want to do in their time at school and for their future careers! It shaped my university experience because I love psychology, and knowing and seeing other people who also love it, talking with them, and learning have been my favourite experiences. There’s nothing like sharing a passion with someone else; this group has allowed me to do that, which is my absolute favourite thing.
SAMU: What would you say to someone considering joining a student group?
All: Do it! There is not a big commitment, only big rewards. If something is going on that you are interested in, check it out and talk to people. Joining a group shouldn’t be daunting, as the groups are very welcoming and supportive here.
SAMU: Is there anything you’d like to say to students before we end?
All: We are looking for students interested in joining the executive team! Send us a message if you are interested, along with any questions and we’d be happy to chat with you.
You can connect with the Student Psychology Network on social media through @macewanpsychology and their Website
Follow SAMU on social media through Instagram (@sa_macewan), Twitter (@SAMacEwan), and Facebook (Students’ Association of MacEwan University) to stay up to date on the latest events, programs, and services from your students’ association.
