Psych Club: A new space for curiosity and connection

Bethel’s Psychology Club aims to bring students together to explore the mind in an open and engaging way.

“I have wanted to create an informal place for students to learn and exchange ideas about psychology freely,” Dr. Navanté Peacock said when asked what the newly founded Psychology Club is for.

Since his first year at Bethel, Peacock had noticed that the only time students could talk with like-minded people about psychology was during class. With the establishment of a psychology club, his goal is not only to create a space for psychology majors but also to open the field to anyone and everyone.

“Every waking moment in a person’s life is psychology,” Peacock explained, “and also every sleeping moment, if we’re being precise.”

When talking to the club president, Kazimir Kromwijk, he agreed that the club should be a casual place for anyone wanting to learn more about psychology. He explained that psychology has been an interest of his since having a mental coach who made him realize that a person doesn’t need a psychology degree to help people around them.

“Psychology can help you better understand any area of your life, so especially people still unsure of their future can gain lots of helpful insight by joining the club,” Kromwijk said.

Kazimir Kromwijk — Photo via Kate Rowland

When talking about things to look forward to, both Peacock and Kromwijk shared that since the club is still being formed, joining now would allow students to help choose the focus of meetings and events. A club logo is currently still being designed as well, which could be another fun area students could get involved in after joining.

“This should be a club for students, by students,” Peacock emphasized. While he is excited to have a space to talk with students in an informal way about psychology, he wants students to be in charge of meetings and events.

“I am just a name that appears as the club’s advisor, but the rest is your choice,” he said.

When explaining why the founding of the club only happened at the start of Peacock’s third year at Bethel, he explained that this has been the first time he’s had support from two people. Not only did the psychology department gain a new professor, but it also got a “departmental ambassador” who can help with the workload.

“This has been the first time since I started at Bethel that I felt I had the time to think about other things than classes,” he explained. Having Kromwijk, whose Employment Experience job is to support the psychology department, allowed them to brainstorm the possibilities of having a psychology club.

Kromwijk is a senior hoping to complete his last semester here at Bethel. After graduating, he wants to become a mental coach and explained that being president of the Psychology Club has been helping him prepare for that future. He has been working on his online mental coaching program since being a freshman and is planning to start the self-growth program once he finishes his bachelor’s degree.

Being president of the Psychology Club has allowed him to get used to juggling multiple things at the same time while building a program from scratch. On top of that, learning how to engage with other people effectively to reach a goal is another helpful area the Psychology Club is teaching him for the future.

“We want to present fun things to the community that will lead to them leaving with more knowledge about psychology,” Peacock said when asked to describe what to expect from future club meetings.

Two major events on the horizon for club members include movie nights related to psychology followed by discussions, and the possibility of attending conferences. Conferences are events where people present their studies and research to the public — something Peacock sees as extremely interesting and helpful for each student’s future. It’s an engaging way to learn about psychology without the pressure of presenting one’s own findings.

“The Psychology Club should become a place for people to enjoy themselves while learning more about any part of psychology,” Kromwijk explained. As it is still in its beginning stages, any new member has the chance to influence what the Psychology Club will be like in the future.