A Conversation with Criminal Psychology Club Vice President Giselle Figueroa
September 19, 2024 - Shelly DeJong
Giselle Figueroa, a junior double majoring in Psychology and Criminal Justice with a minor in Law, Justice, and Public Policy, is the new vice president of the MSU Criminal Psychology Club. Giselle recently shared about her experience with Criminal Psychology Club, what new members can expect this year, and more!
Why Psychology? What do you love about it?
I chose psychology because of the classes I took in high school. Some of my teachers thought with my peculiar interests that I would do well in our offered psychology classes and AP psychology. During these classes I fell in love with understanding how humans work and how the brain and body communicate with each other to produce certain outcomes. I loved learning about what makes people tick and all the unknown possibilities that come with research in psychology and how everyday we’re learning new things about ourselves and the world around us.
Can you tell me about the Criminal Psychology Club?
The Criminal Psychology Club is a club that’s run in a podcast like style. We meet on Zoom every other week and two of our board members share about different true crime cases including describing what happened, what’s public knowledge, and trying to look at it with a deeper lens. We analyze the facts given to us, talk about the motives behind the crimes, and try to decipher whether these motives were developed by the way the person was raised or their genetic makeup - nature vs nurture argument as always. We dive deeply into the cases and answer club members’ questions and try to include guest speakers. For example, we had a Forensic Pathologist come to an in-person meeting and describe their work and the things they deal with and see daily. We also had a detective come in and talk about cold cases he’s worked in and what it’s like being on the force.
What does it look like to be involved with Criminal Psychology Club?
What it looks like to be a part of the Criminal Psychology Club is to be a listener. Since it’s run in a podcast style, the board members do most of the talking so if you don’t feel comfortable engaging then you don’t have to. But we also are very open to people joining in the discussion, asking questions, bringing forward evidence we might’ve missed, adding their own analyzations they made while listening. We love it when people join in and discuss with us, but we understand some people don’t have the time to be fully involved or sometimes just have off day. They’re welcome to just listen in and be present. New members could expect mostly podcast like meetings and some guest speakers to come and describe what it’s like to be in the criminal justice/psychology field.
Who would be a good fit in Criminal Psychology Club?
Really anyone is fit for the club. If you enjoy podcasts, true crime, and deep diving into things that happen in society, then this club is perfect! We’ve people from all majors –some join to learn something new or because it’s a side interest of theirs.
Why is this club important to you?
This club is important to me because I've got to meet cool people doing the same thing as me. Some have connections that could help me in the future and others have given me advice on how to go about my career path. This club is so laid back, it doesn’t feel stressful or that I can’t do both classes and the club.
What are your hopes for the future?
My hopes for the future are to get into grad school and become a forensic psychologist and to also be more productive and use my time here at Michigan State to the fullest.