Psychology majors and enthusiasts were able to enjoy an entire day of workshops and activities at Psychology Day on Friday, April 1.

This marked the second time the event has taken place.

The event was spearheaded by officers and volunteers of the Psychology Club, who facilitated workshops and ran the affair.

Psychology Day consisted of a Student Research Poster Presentation, where students presented their research.

At the Presentation of Research Awards three different groups were given recognition for their research presentations.

• First place was awarded to “I’m Just Not Good at Math” The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence, Mindset, and Math Anxiety,” by Rodolfo Nunez, Katie Padilla, and Samuel Valle.

• Second place went to “The Effects of Billingualism on Memory,” by Noemi Salazar.
• Third place was presented to “Verbal Aggression and Its Impact on Physical Attraction,” by Tatiana Avila, Nancy Hernandez, Jocelyn Guzman, and Sophia Valencia.

Also included was a transfer student roundtable discussion, which was split into different rooms depending on the transfer school, and six different workshops with topics ranging from leadership mindset to mental health and gaming.

Executive Director of the Cerritos College Foundation Steve Richardson conducted the “Leadership Mindset” and “Why People Will Follow You” workshop, which attracted a room full of students.

“It was great, they were very interactive and I love working with students to expose them to the world of business and how leadership works in the real world, especially dealing with psychology students because they are studying and trying to get a handle on the definitions of leadership that works and doesn’t work.”

In his workshop, Richardson spoke of discovering one’s worldview. He gave seven questions that would aid those present in that process.

“In leadership we all have a way that we approach the world and I call it the glasses that we wear.

“Those are our most core beliefs and values and those core beliefs affect how we lead and how we engage in certain leadership traits. So I just gave them some questions to give them a little insight on what their world view looks like,” he stated.

Psychology professor Jaclyn Ronquillo, started the event in 2014 with the help of a grant supported by Dr. Chris Warren, associate professor for the psychology department at Cal State Long Beach.

Psychology Day was funded by The Cerritos College Foundation and Psi Beta, The National Honor Society in Psychology for Community Colleges.

Ronquillo expressed that showcasing the different opportunities the college has lead her to start the event.

“It was about three years ago, as a previous student that was here, I really felt that this is where the seed was planted in me for psychology, and I was kind of thinking about what are some opportunities that we can bring to students that will have them start now in terms of securing a passion in psychology, the different kinds of opportunities that the college has.”

The all day event concluded with Dr. Robert Shug, professor from Cal State Long Beach presenting his experience in the field and interviewing serial killer Joel Rifkin

“He was a very interesting guy, he seemed like a normal dude,” Shug said.

He expressed how he felt about coming back to Cerritos, which he does about every six months.

“I had a really good time, and sometimes I get to help folks afterwards that get in contact with me,” he expressed.

Psychology Club President Noemi Salazar expressed that the event has been in its planning stages since the beginning of the semester.

“We had a lot of people, every single one of the members in the club that was committed to their assigned positions all took care of it. It took us a lot of planning but I feel like it was a very successful event.”

She continued, “Everybody did their part, it turned out exactly how it should have because everybody was very helpful.”