“You shampoo your hair, you rinse it out, you feel the water on your body. You focus! I challenge you!” said Professor Jessica McLaughlin to the students at the first meeting of the Psychology Club.
McLaughlin is an assistant professor of psychology and now the teach advisor for the club. The topic of discussion was not on showering, it was that of “living in the moment,” and McLaughlin was challenging the students to “live in the moment” of taking a simple shower instead of allowing their minds to wander elsewhere.
According to McLaughlin, Psychology is not a major at Montgomery College and generally falls under the category of “General Studies.” McLaughlin, along with MC student Sajani Fernando, decided to form the club to help create opportunities for those interested in the subject.
“We really want to be engaged in campus [life] and also have an affect on the community as well. There’s all different sorts of ways that we can engage with the community like working with kids, working with people that are struggling with different psychological issues, and also making things available to the students here on campus,” said McLaughlin.
Along with community opportunities, McLaughlin also plans to hold seminars and discussions with real psychologists.
Student member majoring in Social Work, Marquich Brown, is excited about the plans set for the club. “I’m beyond excited because I love to learn about the brain and how things work and how it doesn’t work based off of neuron system we have built inside of us,” Brown said.
Andrea Arias, another student member, also looking forward to interacting with people with similar interests stated, “I’m excited, it is something new and everyone seems very involved already.”
Fernando, now president of the club, hopes the club will help students learn more about themselves and other people. “I think psych is a very essential kind of subject to anybody. Just understanding themselves is important and just general awareness about mental health and those psychology related subjects,” said Fernando.
McLaughlin said the club plans to meet twice a month, alternating between Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s, from 2:00 – 3:00, though the hours are subject to change.
McLaughlin also said the discussion topics can range from a variety of choices, from general and global issues to living in the moment and focusing in the shower.
