A new club has come to Florida Gulf Coast University.
Students Promoting Industrial and Organization Psychology (SPIOP) invites any students interested in expanding their opportunities in psychology and other related fields.
Industrial organizational psychology applies psychological principles in the workplace to increase productivity and solve issues. Its goals are to teach people how to recruit the right people for a job, find out what is and is not working in a company, and why employees may be burned out.
“SPIOP is not just a group of psychology majors,” club president Joshua Palmer said. Palmer, a 22-year-old senior, is a psychology major with a minor in business management. He started the club with the hopes of encouraging people to come together with a common interest, regardless of their majors or backgrounds.
He noticed that other universities had organizations helping students to network and gain leadership skills, and he wanted to bring those same opportunities to students at FGCU.
Palmer said: “When I was a freshman I was shy. I took Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology and a Directed Study and they got me really interested in the field. I began to see myself grow, and I want other people to experience that as well. It’s a really awesome feeling.”
Palmer is working under the supervision of psychology professor Terence Leary, who has agreed to advise the SPIOP club. “Students will get the opportunity for internships and the experience necessary to prepare for the work world,” Leary said. “I want them to see the marriage between psychology and business.”
Through this club, students have had the opportunity to work with well-known companies such as Adidas and St. Matthew’s House. The students involved are not just psychology majors, but a mixture of business, progolf management, law and nursing students as well.
Leary says he and Palmer are aiming for an interdisciplinary organization in which people from multiple fields can blend together. “We’ll be going to classrooms to talk about this club, so people can become interested and join,” Palmer said. “It will give freshmen an opportunity to sample this field if they aren’t completely sure what they want to do.”
Leary says he is excited for SPIOP to get rolling. SPIOP plans to have meetings the first Wednesday from of every month 6-8 p.m. They plan on having speakers from Human Resources, Industrial and Organizational professionals and professors in that subject. “Our goal is to have a good time and have interactive fun,” he said.
All students can join these meetings. Room confirmation is yet to be determined, but students interested can check Facebook to stay updated.
 

Pictured: Courtney Caligiuri, Jacob Swihura, Joshua Palmer, Jacqueline Thorsen, Kristopher Marlow. Center: Terence Leary