Conference sets student up for next step in career journey

The British Psychological Society (BPS) recently held their Scottish Undergraduate Conference in Dundee with GCU finding themselves at the heart of the action.

15 students from the BSc (Hons) Applied Psychology programme had the opportunity to present their final-year research projects and get some well-deserved credit for their hard work.

Salvija Stončiūtė was one of those students involved and found the conference the perfect way to round off her time as a trainee psychologist.

She explained: “I actually feel very proud to have been involved because it’s been a long journey for me.

“I’m from Lithuania and I’ve always had an interest in psychology, but I originally felt quite intimidated by it as a profession. There is quite a lot of sexism in Lithuania and the teachers at my school weren’t very supportive of females going outside the normal gender boundaries.

“I initially decided to do a media and communications degree. When I started studying here at GCU, I took an optional module, Foundations in Psychology, and it was very interesting. I was also quite good at it, so it gave me confidence that I could actually do it and my tutors really encouraged me to basically transfer over to the psychology programme.”

Salvija has no regrets about making the switch and feels a sense of relief at finding a new career path as a mature student.

She said: “I’m very passionate about psychology and even at the age of 25, I know it’s definitely what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’m exhausted after doing this degree but I still want to pursue psychology as a career. It’s a real privileged position to be in and I cherish it.

“My only anxiety has really been the prospect of finding a job because I’ve mainly worked in hospitality, as well as my roles at GCU as a Student Mentor and Student Ambassador. As a result, I want to get involved with any opportunities that present themselves.

Luckily for Salvija the BPS Student Conference came at just the right time for her and the other 14 students involved.

She said: “We do our own student conference at GCU, which was basically a presentation of our projects. While we were there, our lecturers told us there was a BPS Scotland Undergraduate Conference as well.

“They encouraged us to go because it’s a great way to see research in action, which was important for us – especially with the impact of covid. I’ve never been scared of public speaking so I just wanted to see how a real conference would all work.”

The conference gave Salvija another opportunity to reflect on her research, which combined her interest in both television and psychology.

She said: “My research focused on the media’s influence on women’s attitudes to higher weight women.

“I put posters around campus and used the internet to recruit participants for my study. I then asked them to watch two trailers from Netlfix: one was Emily in Paris and the other was a film called Dumplin’. Participants were asked their attitudes to higher weight women before and after watching to see whether the videos influenced them.

“The research all ties into the media’s perception that thin bodies are more marketable. It is something that’s really problematic because the media’s portrayal can influence attitudes. For example, if people have the attitude that a higher weight women is lazy because of something on television or online then that can impact on someone potentially being hired for a job.”

Salvija added: “I’m really passionate about my research, but it was definitely challenging putting a year-long study into a ten minute presentation!”

“My anticipation anxiety is massive. A few days before it I was a wreck, but by the time I got to actually stand up and speak, all my nerves were gone.”

Salvija acknowledges that the task of presenting was made slightly easier thanks to the support network around her on the day.

She explained: “I think the big thing is you’re not going through it alone and you have other people there to share any nerves with. There was a nice camaraderie between all of the students presenting and we all wanted to see each other do well.

“Our lecturers Mairi Fleming and Kareena McAloney also came along. They’re both very talented researchers, so I just wanted to make sure I impressed them!”

“There was probably about 200 students there from all over Scotland, so it was really impressive that David Wilson from our course won best presentation. His work focused on the link between music and nostalgia and the difference between neurotypical individuals and those with Autism.”

Salvija is delighted to have had the chance to share her work at a national level and values the variety of opportunities GCU has provided her as a student.

She said: “Another major bonus of being involved in the conference was seeing the curiosity and welcoming nature of the academic community. It was fascinating for me to actually witness academics discuss their work – it just shows you how much passion there is within the profession.

“I’ve been involved in so much since coming to study here and this has definitely been one of the highlights.”

Salvija added: “It sounds dramatic but GCU has turned my life around. I work here, I study here, I go to therapy here …the only thing I don’t do is sleep here!

“My long-term dream is to be a lecturer, so who knows…maybe I’ll find myself back here one day.”

Find out more about the BSc (Hons) Applied Psychology programme here

By Ross Clark     
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter