Psychology

The connections with fellow students that Alex Bhargava made in the VIU Theatre diploma program have deeply impacted him.

“I’ve gained so much confidence in my abilities and my ability to problem solve and it’s all because of the students that were around me and their willingness to keep pushing me and encouraging me, but also to help me if I needed it.”

The dynamic nature of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has captured Andrew Szilagyi’s interest.

“The recent boom in AI development with tools like ChatGPT became a large topic of discussion worldwide and particularly in my life as a student,” he says.

The fourth-year VIU Psychology Honours student is delving deeper into the subject, with a new research project looking at how different levels of exposure to AI in the workplace can influence how workers perceive their identities when working alongside AI systems.

While she’s always been drawn to the field of psychology, Mauricea Panchenko wasn’t sure if her interest would develop into anything further, particularly when it came to post-secondary education.

“I waited so long to go back to school because I did not believe it was an option for me,” she says.

Spencer Antifave didn’t plan on pursuing a minor in psychology when he enrolled at VIU.

However, doing so turned out to be one of the highlights of his post-secondary career. In his third and fourth year, the Bachelor of Business Administration graduate decided to take “a few” psychology courses as electives.

When Mikaila Tombe began her post-secondary career, she was initially unsure what to do with her degree. Now, she’s combining her interests and talents into a new study for her undergraduate thesis.

A fourth-year VIU Psychology honours student and a musician, Mikaila has always been interested in the reasons behind why people respond the way they do to certain types of music.

Emmerson Pollard, who is co-valedictorian for the Faculty of Social Sciences, is graduating this June with a Bachelors of Arts, Honours in Psychology. She plans on starting a Master of Public Health at the University of Victoria this September.

Chris Shanks wanted to pursue a truly interdisciplinary education during his time at VIU, which is why he enrolled in both a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies and a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Psychology and Biology.