MGCI’s Psychology Club is tackling Parkinson’s Disease through spreading awareness to club members and inviting guest speakers to speak about Parkinson’s research. During lunch on 22 February , the club hosted a stress ball making session to raise awareness for Parkinson’s Disease and provide a mental health activity for students.

Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects mobility, and primarily the elderly. Psychology Club Co-President Isabel Liu first became interested in Parkinson’s due to her love of neuroscience. “Neurodegenerative diseases have always been fascinating and scary to me, so I wanted to research into one that’s common yet less understood, which led me to Parkinson’s disease,” she said. Club member, Alina Cui, joined Ppsychology club because she “is interested in psychology and learning how the mind works.”

Today, Psychology Club Co-Presidents Isabel Liu and Mia Tran raise awareness about Parkinson’s through educating MGCI students, participating in community events, and running an online social media account in collaboration with a project for a health science competition @Motion4Parkinsons on Instagram.

Students at the club meeting during lunch made stress balls out of balloons filled with rice or slime. The students who opted to use slime made their own slime by mixing glue with a contact lens and baking soda solution. After, the students used a funnel to transfer the rice or slime into a balloon, before tying it.

Numerous members of the MGCI community flocked to room 315 to participate in the event. There was strong consensus that the event was successful. Enthusiastic club member Alishbah Dholasania commented, “I learn so much from the club every week and there are so many hands-on activities.” When asked about the stress ball making event, Eric Zhou, a grade 9 student, showed up for the event to check out the new club. “My friends always come here so I decided to check it out. The event turned out to be very fun and I’m definitely interested in participating in the club more in the future,” explained Eric. New member Ariadni Teka, showed up to the event because “it sounds very interesting to be able to participate in a de-stressing activity. It’s good for high school students.” Mia was glad with the high turnout. “I’m really happy that so many people showed up. I hope they had fun and learned some new things.”

Psychology club frequently features mental health activities, lectures on various psychology topics, and activities to raise awareness for Parkinson’s Disease. As the club grows, Co-Presidents Isabel Liu and Mia Tran plan to host more informational meetings and school-wide events. To join the club, new members should show up to meetings on Thursdays at lunch in room 315 and follow @Motion4Parkinsons and @psych.mgci on Instagram.