Pi Gamma Mu News.

• Date: 15 December 2020

2020 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

After much deliberation on the part of the Pi Gamma Mu Awards Committee, the committee's chairperson, Dr. Clara Small, recommended nine students and five alternates to receive Pi Gamma Mu Scholarships to the Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees awarded the scholarships to the following lifetime members of Pi Gamma Mu:

Mehak Rajesh Advani was awarded the $2,000 Carroll Parish Scholarship. The International Board of Trustees funded this scholarship to memorialize Carroll Parish, the late chancellor of Pi Gamma Mu's Western Region. Advani graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Science from Soka University of America, Aliso Viejo, California. She was inducted into the California Chi Chapter of Pi Gamma Mu in 2019. Dr. Peter Burns is the Chapter Sponsor.

As an undergraduate, Advani was particularly interested in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Her bachelor's senior thesis is entitled, ""Does a Giving Culture Make People More Willing to Share Counter-Normative Ideas?" Through this research Advani investigated individuals' giver/taker nature (derived from Adam Grant's Give & Take book), and how it influences their constructive deviance behaviors in the workplace. She is currently attending graduate school at the Krannert School of Management, Purdue University, where she is pursuing a Master of Science in Human Resource Management. Her long-term career goal is to develop tailored policies, strategies and programs to effectively manage workforce. She also hopes to publish peer-reviewed articles in the field of business psychology.

When asked about how her membership in Pi Gamma Mu impacted her, Advani said, "My membership in Pi Gamma Mu enabled me to have intriguing social science conversations even outside class and problem-solve with peers. It gave me a platform to express myself and share ideas. I also benefitted from reading peer-reviewed articles in the journal, International Social Science Review, and aim to present at the Pi Gamma Mu research convention."

Elisabeth S. Noland was awarded the $2,000 Marvel Stockwell Scholarship. The International Board of Trustees funded this scholarship to memorialize Marvel Stockwell, late Pi Gamma Mu International First Vice President. Noland was inducted into the Chapter at Valparaiso University, where Dr. Daniel Saros is the Chapter Sponsor. She majored in Psychology and Spanish and is particularly interested in prejudice reduction strategies.

with and mentoring Noland is attending graduate school at Purdue University where she is working toward a PhD in Social Psychology. For her Master's thesis she is examining the potential relationship between personal and systemic bias. Her long-term career goal is to be a professor at a research institution working underrepresented students and shaping the next generation of scholars. Regarding Pi Gamma Mu, Noland noted that her membership has provided her with a network of other scholars and provides great funding opportunities.

Peter J. Varga received the Effie B. Urquhart Scholarship of $2,000. This scholarship is funded by the Board of Trustees to memorialize Effie B. Urquhart, Pi Gamma Mu's late national executive secretary. Varga completed his BA degree at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC where he was inducted into the DC Alpha Chapter. Varga majored in Psychology with minors in Neuroscience, Philosophy, and Theology & Religious Studies. In addition to being Vice President of his Pi Gamma Mu Chapter, he was President of the university's Medieval Society. He was also an undergraduate peer tutor in the University Writing Center, where he conducted a study of the effects of writing center consultations on clients' writing apprehension and self-efficacy. Within the Psychology Department, he was a senior research assistant in the Mental Load and Performance Laboratory (examining the effect of social stress on prospective memory) and a research assistant in the Lunar Psychophysics Virtual Reality Laboratory (comparing visual perception in environments with terrestrial and lunar light scattering effects). He continues to serve as a research...