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Q u a l i t y T i m eHonor Society Helps Students, Teachers Grow CloserIn November of 1976, the Psi Chi NationalHonor Society for psychology majors beganon campus. It was made up of students thatwere in the upper 35% of their class, hadcompleted nine hours in psychology and hadbeen in college for at least three semesters. Inaddition to these qualifications, the membershad to maintain a minimum of a 3.0 in boththeir psychology classes and their overallgrade point average.Over the changing years, this club maintainedits original foundation and purpose,which was to encourage, stimulate and preserveexcellence in scholarship, as well as toadvance psychology as a science.Many people, especially students, consideredit a great privilege to be inductedinto Psi Chi.“I was really excited to have met thequalifications,” senior Olivia Hawkins said.“It is always an honor to be requested to bepart of a national honor society.”Hawkins and senior Lauren Cox, whoserved as president and vice president ofPsi Chi during the 2008-09 school year,both recognized the significance of beinginvolved in this organization within theirfield of study.“Psi Chi is a great organization to be a partof in terms of showing your commitmentto the field of psychology,” Cox said. “Onceinducted you are a member for life.”In addition to the longevity of membershipin Psi Chi, the club also offered studentsimmediate advantages for continuing theireducation or advancing their careers.“I joined because the nature of the organizationis to spark creativity within membersof the psychological community,” Hawkinssaid. “Graduate schools understand what anhonor this recognition is, and I knew that itwould help me further my education. Psi Chiprides itself on maintaining high standards inits scholarship, which furthers the credibilityof its name. They also offer plenty of scholarshipsto help in future research.”The functions that Psi Chi performedincluded admitting new members to theclub, holding psychological conventions andresearch award competitions and offeringopportunities to apply for scholarships andgrants to assist with research activities.In addition to all of these activities,Harding’s chapter took time to bring togetherboth the upperclassmen and underclassmenin the psychology division.“We had a psychology department cookoutthat was sponsored by Psi Chi,” Coxsaid. “We went to Dr. [Glen] Adams’ andate hamburgers and hotdogs. It was nice torelax with the professors and other studentsoutside of the classroom.”Both at Harding and across NorthAmerica, the Psi Chi honor society continuallyexpanded. Since 1929 there were over570,000 memberships placed, and it grewevery year with new inductees. Like Cox andHawkins, students felt energized to be partof a club that promised further involvementand support of its members in the field ofpsychology.Rebecca HarrellSenior Rachal Blake, president of Alpha Theta Omega,shakes hands with inductee senior Nate Moore at the inductionceremony on Oct. 20 at the Searcy Police Station. Thegroup helped criminal justice students connect so they couldstay in touch after graduation and taught them professional,academic and public awareness of criminal justice issues.Courtesy of Rachal BlakeCircle KChristians In ActionRow 1: K. Masters, A. Loan, J. Ellis. Row 2: P. Alvarado, N. Miller.Row 1: R. Gelpi, L. Larson, R. Mays. Row 2: B. Cantrell, A. Loan.social sciences/behavorial sciences 233