Psychology honors society celebrates 40 years on campus

Deborah Cheek ’90 MS ’92 Ed.S. ‘93, left, and Marah Cheek, right.
Deborah Cheek ’90, M.S. ’92, Ed.S. ‘93, left, and Marah Cheek, right.

Psi Chi, the Psychology Honors Society at Radford University, celebrated 40 years on campus with a special induction ceremony in April. 

As an international honors society, Psi Chi encourages, stimulates and maintains excellence in scholarship of the individual members in all fields, particularly in psychology, and seeks to advance the science of psychology, according to the Psi Chi web page.

At the ceremony, 33 students were inducted into Psi Chi. Among them was Marah Cheek, a sophomore from Lynchburg, Virginia. Just days before the induction ceremony, Cheek was at home preparing for the ceremony when her mother, Deborah Cheek ’90, M.S. ’92, Ed.S. ‘93 pulled out an old T-shirt with Psi Chi on it and passed on her legacy to her daughter.

“It was a cool experience,” said Marah Cheek. “Parents normally brag on their kids, but it was cool because Dr. Sarah Hastings was there, Dr. [Jeff] Aspelmeier and College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences Dean [Matthew J. Smith]. Instead of my mom bragging on me, I got to tell them my mom went here too, and she was also in this organization.”

Cheek, who hopes to be a school counselor, originally didn’t plan on studying psychology.

“My mom introduced me to psychology and when I started thinking about what I wanted to do, it was clear that psychology was the path I should take,” Cheek said.

Psi Chi President Jenny Cole said that this year’s induction class was one of the largest in recent years, and the organization and ceremony are about coming together.

“[The ceremony] is about appreciating what we are and what it means to be a member of Psi Chi,” Cole said. “For this ceremony, having both the Dean and the Chair be there made it special.”

Psi Chi promotes mental health awareness, works with the Women’s Resource Center and provides academic scholarships and more.

May 15, 2019
Max Esterhuizen
540-831-7749
westerhuizen@radford.edu