The international psychology honors society, known as Psi Chi, inducted Jonathan Bachelor ’25, Emma Hawkins ’25, and Martin von Thun ’25 on March 24 at Holy Cross College.

Psi Chi is the International Honor Society in Psychology, founded in 1929 for the purposes of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence in scholarship, and advancing the science of psychology. Membership is open to graduate and undergraduate men and women who are in the top 35% academically and who are making the study of psychology one of their majors or minors. Psi Chi is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) and is an affiliate of the American Psychological Association (APA).

The mission of the Holy Cross College Psi Chi Chapter is to recognize and promote excellence in the science and application of psychology. Being part of the chapter is an honor bestowed on students who are psychology majors or minors who have shown academic excellence.

In order to qualify, students must:

  • be enrolled as a major or minor in a psychology program or a program psychological in nature
  • have completed at least 3 semesters or equivalent of full-time college coursework
  • have completed at least 9 semester credit hours or equivalent of psychology courses
  • have earned a cumulative GPA that is in the top 35% of their class (sophomore, junior, or senior) compared to their classmates across the entire university or the college that houses psychology (minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4-point scale)
  • have a minimum 3.0 GPA average for psychology courses

Alumnus Paul Gilsdorf ’18 gave a talk about “The Holy Cross College Impact,” talking about his journey at Holy Cross College and how it impacted his life. He was one of the founding members of the HCC Psi Chi chapter and was the first treasurer. Gilsdorf is a native Texan who graduated from Holy Cross College with a double major in business and psychology and a double minor in marketing and communications. While at Holy Cross, he was a collegian living in formation with the Holy Cross Brothers. After graduating from Holy Cross, Paul earned his Master’s in Finance from Harvard University where he published research connecting psychology and finance by studying the effects of when an investment goes ‘viral’ on social media. He worked full-time during his master’s and his career has brought him to live in places like Boston, New Hampshire, and Beijing, China. Today, Paul is the Director of Growth for Nevada Real Estate Group out of Reno, Nevada, the largest real estate team in the state. His job uses his psychology background from Holy Cross as the hiring manager for his company, evaluating candidates’ personalities, DISC profiles, and culture fit for their collective mission. He also conducts Harvard’s admissions interviews for applicants in Northern Nevada.

Current Psi Chi officers are Alexandra Buchlmayer ’24, president, Lucas Snyder ’24, co-president, Anna Beer ’24, vice president, Muris Imamovic ’23, secretary, and Joshua Amodeo ’24, treasurer.