After months of preparation, psychology students gathered to showcase their research projects on Monday, May 11, for the DePaul community.  

As the first program to hold a science fair for all its students, the psychology department has hosted Psych Night for the last 30 years, bringing together individuals across the program to celebrate excellence.  

According to department chair Dina Birman, the event is centered around passion and curiosity instead of a typical presentation or award show — allowing attendees to leave with more knowledge than they came with.  

“This is a party,” Birman said, adding how the purpose is meant to exchange ideas in a celebratory way.  

Over the last three decades, she said the initial idea has progressed with experimentation. 

“Every time, we try something new, this time with live music,” Birman said.  

Christine Reyna, a psychology professor and host of the event, said the tradition itself is a driving force in the desire students have to participate.  

“Students really plan for it,” Reyna said. “They want to have a presentation at Psych Night,” Reyna said.

Reyna also emphasized the significance of a student’s role in the research process and said she hoped attendees could recognize that “students play such an important role in contributing to our canon of knowledge.”  

Vera Pljevaljcic, a senior and first-time presenter at the event, said the ability to share the information she collected with the community is “a stepping stone” in her own research journey.  

Pljevaljcic, who is majoring in psychology and minoring in statistics, said the demanding nature of conducting research often isolates one from other areas of interest. 

“To be able to see a little bit of people’s lives, or however long they’ve been working on their project, it’s special,” Pljevaljcic said.  

Bailey Hill, a second-year graduate student, also presented at the event and shared a similar perspective.  

“It’s a great opportunity to make our research come to life a bit, come off the computer screen and really showcase it and be proud of it,” Hill said.  

Given the wide variety of student research, Hill says, it’s important for students to be able to learn from each other while also praising all the hard work being accomplished.  

“It’s rare that we all get to be in one room, all sharing our research,” junior Katherine Fosco said.  

Fosco, a psychology major whom Hill mentored, says the community aspect of the gathering is what makes it admirable. 

“It’s just really fun to have fellow psych majors and the faculty from DePaul all in one room, doing the same thing,” Fosco said.  

Her mentor further explained how the occasion invites everyone, students and teachers alike to exist at the same level. 

“We’re just fellow people being really interested in research and psychology,” Hill added. 

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