Mark Crossen

Mark is a senior who majors in psychology and minors in philosophy at Grand Valley State University. He spends the majority of his time reading philosophy books, playing chess, and learning whatever he can. He discovered his passion for learning through his wrestling career. Mark wants to be a clinical psychologist in the future and has enjoyed every step on the path to becoming one so far!

Preferred Pronouns: He/Him

Sam Fisher

Sam is a senior pursuing a triple major in psychology, sociology, and dance. Their goal is to obtain a PhD in social work to become a professor and concentrate their research on autism, neurodiversity, and developmental disabilities. Diagnosed as autistic and ADHD during college, Sam is deeply committed to advocacy and research in the field of neurodiversity. He is enthusiastic about fostering a supportive community for neurodiverse students at Grand Valley.

Preferred Pronouns: He/They

Madelyn Howe

Madelyn is a junior here at GVSU and is studying psychology with a minor in business! After undergrad, she plans to attend graduate school to become a Marriage and Family Therapist. For fun, she likes to hang out with friends and family, shop, go see sunsets, and listen to music. Madelyn is also a board member of Psi Chi and a part of the Seidman mentorship program. Madelyn is super excited to be a part of the Psych Friends community and share her passion for psychology!  

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her

Lainey Otten

Lainey is a senior at GV, majoring in Psychology with minors in Writing and Philosophy. Her career goals include becoming a therapist/counselor, publishing a book and working with young adults and women. When she isn’t studying you can find her with the GV Boxing club, FaceTiming her little sisters, writing for her Substack or indulging in her new hobby of the month. She’s super excited to meet fellow Psych students and help them make the most out of their GV experience.

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her

Akash Ranabothu

Akash is currently a senior at Grand Valley, majoring in psychology. His career goal is to attend PA school to become a physician assistant. He is involved in the Alzheimer's Awareness Club at Grand Valley. His favorite hobbies include playing tennis, video games, and hanging out with friends. An interesting fact about him is that he has never broken a bone and has been on two cruises: one to Alaska and one to Mexico. Akash is excited to be a part of Psych Friends this year and looks forward to meeting new people in the psychology community.

Preferred Pronouns: He/Him

Natasha Vaughn

Natasha is a junior at GVSU and a Behavioral Neuroscience major. She hopes to go to graduate school for a PhD in neuroscience and to become a researcher and professor. Her possible research interest includes mental illness, type 1 autism, or neurobiology of pregnancy. Throughout her life she has struggled with mental health issues and hopes to help others with research and advocacy. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her roommate and dog or playing the sims.

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her

Megan Wood

Megan Wood is a senior here at GVSU, majoring in psychology with a minor in juvenile justice. She is looking to pursue a graduate program in Social Work or Counseling to work with children and teens as a therapist in the future. She is very interested in mental health and making sure that younger individuals are provided with the appropriate resources and support. In her free time, she loves being outside, cooking, coloring and yapping with friends. She enjoys being a Psych Friends mentor because she is able to connect with and support other students at GV.

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her

Joe Bombassei

Joe is a senior student, studying Psychology and Writing. With career goals of teaching post-secondary as a professor of Psychology that stems from his passion of helping others and advancing collective knowledge. Joe enjoys all kinds of hobbies: from hiking, gardening, creative writing, reading, rock climbing, and cooking to name a few. Outside of Psych Friends, Joe also spends time working as a Research Consultant in the Knowledge Market in the library, works as a pet stylist of 4yrs at a local business in South GR, and can often be found climbing at the GV climbing wall as a part of the Vertical Earth club. He is excited to get to know new people and share experiences and use the Psych Friends Program to start applying what he has learned to help other people reach their goals and foster a sense of community.

Jaime Lara

Jaime is a senior majoring in psychology ag Grand Valley State University. After graduation, he hopes to work with at risk juveniles/adults by pursuing a career in behavior analysis. He hopes to earn a master’s to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), but start as a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCABA). When not at school, Jaime likes to watch and play sports, listen to music, hangout with his cats, take care of his plants and go out with friends.

Megan Demshuk

Senior Psychology and Clinical Exercise Science Double Major

Megan Demshuk is a senior here at GV. She is a double major in Psychology and Clinical Exercise Science, and is looking to pursue graduate school in Clinical Psychology in order to work with athletes with eating disorders (as well as mental health patients in general). In her free time, she enjoys weightlifting, reading, and spending time with my friends and family.

Lauren Lafevre

Senior Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience Major

Lauren is a senior at GVSU majoring in psychology and behavioral neuroscience. She hopes to attend a PhD program in neuroscience to pursue a career in neurodegenerative disease research. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, going to the beach and finding new coffee shops. Lauren is very excited to be a part of Psych Friends and meet new people!

Emma Fairchild

Psychology and Early Childhood Education Major

Emma is studying psychology and early childhood education with the goal of becoming a School Psychologist. She is very passionate about wanting to create safe and equitable environments for students to learn and grow as people. In her free time she loves to run, bake, watch movies, spend time with friends, family, and her cat! Emma is very excited to be a part of the Psych Friends team again and is looking forward to helping and meeting new students with a similar love for psychology! 

Julia Korol

Senior Psychology and Health Sciences Major

Julia is currently a senior at GVSU studying allied health sciences and psychology. After graduating, she hopes to further her education by becoming a physician assistant/associate specialized in pediatric psychiatry. She is very passionate about helping her community and working with different patient populations especially children/adolescents. In her free time, she enjoys swimming at the beach, listening to music, walking, exercising, and spending time outside in the sun for vitamin D! She is very excited to be a part of the Psych Friends community and cannot wait to meet and help students!

Isabelle Mooney

Senior Psychology Major and Sociology Minor

Isabelle is a senior here at GVSU and is studying psychology and sociology. She has career goals related to school counseling or elementary education. She is passionate about the Psych Friends program, as well as helping and working with others. Isabelle believes the program has so much information to offer psychology students, as she has utilized the program herself! In her spare time away from class, Isabelle enjoys spending her afternoons at the elementary school she works at teaching 1st and 2nd grade students. She is super excited to be a returning Psych Friends mentor for her final year at GVSU!

Thomas Solomon

Senior Psychology Major and Sociology Minor

Thomas Solomon is a senior here at GVSU. This is his second year of being a Psych Friends Peer Mentor and he is excited to be back! He is majoring in Psychology with a minor in sociology with hopes of becoming a therapist/counselor. His next steps after GVSU is to pursue a master's degree in Social Work or Counseling. When he is not in the classroom you can usually find him outside in the sun (usually with his Pomeranian, Calvin) or getting his hands dirty in some soil (he love plants)! He looks forward to meeting you this year! 

Alivia Miriani

Senior Behavioral Neuroscience Major & Psychology Minor

Hello my name is Alivia, I am a senior at GVSU with a major in neuroscience and a minor in psychology. I hope to go to medical school to become a psychiatrist after graduation.  In my free time I love to play with my pets, I have a cat and a dog. In my spare time I also enjoy playing tennis, listening to music, drinking coffee, and working out. I love having the opportunity to help others through mentoring. I am excited to help those in need and meet new people through this program.

Alli Cox

School Psychology Graduate Student

Alli is a Graduate Assistant for the Psychology Retention Committee. She is passionate about the relationships formed in the mentoring process and looks forward to the development of this program. During her free time, Alli enjoys spending time at the lake or playing board games. You will always catch her with coffee in her hand.

Amanda Herdoiza

Senior Psychology Major and Business Minor

Amanda is a senior here at Grand Valley and this is her second year being a psych friends peer mentor. She is majoring in psychology with a minor in business and she plans to go onto graduate school to get her PhD in clinical psychology. For fun Amanda likes to hang out with friends, workout, shop, do yoga, walk her dog, etc. Outside of psych friends Amanda volunteers in two psychology labs for faculty at GVSU, is a member of Psi Chi, and is a member of Sigma Kappa. Amanda is beyond excited to be a part of psych friends again and to be able to help her peers be as successful as possible at GV and in the future! 

Aubrie Postma

I intend on becoming a Psychiatrist practicing at a VA Hospital or Corrections Facility.

Why Psych Friends: I enjoy helping those who want to achieve their academic goals. I believe that my experience as a Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychology student can help others navigate their  way to success within these particular majors.

Azabeth Kish

Senior Psychology Major and Minor in English

Azabeth is a senior at Grand Valley this year. She has a Psychology Major with an English Minor. She loves learning about Psychology and how the human brain works. Her career goals include being a talk therapist that specializes in mental health disorders such as ADHD, ASD, OCD, as well as PTSD. She also has a passion to work with adolescents and young adults. In her free time she enjoys going out with friends and being with her cuddly cat Bellamy. One fun fact about her is that she can talk about Taylor Swift all day every day!

Casey Elkhoury

Senior Psychology Major Aging & Adult Life Minor

Casey hopes to pursue a career in Occupational Therapy after graduation. She loves to travel, spend time outdoors, hang out with friends, listen to music, and find new coffee shops in the area! She also enjoys her work at a nursing and rehab center nearby. Casey is super excited to be a part of Psych Friends and can’t wait to meet more people with a passion for psychology!

Collin Petz

Collin wishes to pursue a career in psychotherapy where he hopes to help individuals deal with tough psychological circumstances. He has a particular interest in applying CBT and existential therapeutic principles to those searching for meaning in life. He is currently an undergraduate researcher examining police response to mental illness in campus contexts. He also had the pleasure of hosting Freud's Family Feud for Psych Friends as the titular host last year. In his free time, Collin enjoys reading existentialist philosophy and classic/philosophical fiction, analyzing film and TV, and talking with others. He looks forward to continuing to work with Psych Friends and meeting more of you in GVSU’s psychology community.

Katie Bryant

Sophomore Psychology Major and Spanish and Statistics Minor

Katie is currently a sophomore at GVSU hoping to attend graduate school to obtain a Master's of School Psychology. She is currently majoring in Psychology with a double minor in Spanish and Statistics. Mentoring and serving her community has always been something that she is passionate about and she is excited to make personal connections with her new Mentee's this year. In her free time, you can find Katie at the beach with her friends, teaching dance, or attending Grand Valley's campus ministries! Katie can not wait to connect more with the Psychology department and is excited to be a Psych Friend this year!

Kaylee Bradeen

Kaylee hopes to become an occupational therapist and work in a pediatric department. She plans to attend graduate school for occupational therapy after graduation. She is currently studying behavioral neuroscience and loves learning and talking to others about all of the great academic and career options available within the field of psychology. In her free time, she loves to spend time with family and friends, bake, read, and play board games. She is so excited to be a part of Psych Friends and can’t wait to meet new people.

Kyle Campagnolo

Junior Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience Major

Kyle is a junior at Grand Valley State University studying psychology and behavioral neuroscience. He prides himself on being personable and easy to talk to. In his spare time, you will either find him hiking, rock climbing, or longboarding. If he is not doing any of those activities, he’s lounging around and enjoying the day.

Lauren Butler

Junior Psychology and Criminal Justice Major

I am a junior with a double major in psychology and criminal justice. I am hoping to work in juvenile or adult corrections, or as a family/juvenile lawyer. My dream job, however, would be to work with the FBI. I enjoy being outside, reading, and going to the gym. I am a big fan of crime shows, and my favorite movie is Top Gun: Maverick.

Liam Hart

Liam is the president of the GVSU PSI CHI executive board and aims to attend a PhD program in cognitive psychology after graduation. In his free time, Liam likes to hang out with friends and family, snowboard, golf, and is getting into rock climbing. He is currently conducting research on belief change in the Social Cognition lab. Liam is excited to be part of Psych Friends and looks forward to meeting and talking with more people interested in psychology at GVSU.

Megan Hieronymus

Junior Psychology and Social Work Major

Megan is currently a junior pursuing a dual major in social work and psychology. She has also undergone training to be a mental health ambassador on campus and is eager to share some of that knowledge with her mentees. In her free time, she enjoys spending time relaxing with her friends and family and trying new things. Megan is very excited to be a member of Psych Friends and help other students learn more about the psychology and behavioral neuroscience programs, various resources on campus, graduate programs, and so much more.

Megan Ladiski

Senior Psychology Major

Megan is a senior here at Grand Valley. She is a psychology major and is interested in working with children as a child or play therapist. Besides Psych Friends, she is involved in a variety of activities here including the Laker Marching Band, Kappa Kappa Psi, and Campus Ministry. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, hanging out with friends, watching movies, hanging with her cat, and drinking coffee. Megan can not wait to start working with Psych Friends!

Megan Singer

Senior Behavioral Neuroscience and Communication Services Major

Megan is a senior majoring in behavioral neuroscience and communication sciences and disorders. She hopes to become a researcher within the field of audiology and psychology and is especially interested in how the brain interacts with hearing. Megan enjoys golf, movies, drawing, and reading in her time outside of school. She also enjoys traveling and has been to 47 US states and 13 countries. She is excited to meet everyone in the Psych Friends program and is looking forward to helping new BNS and psych students!

Olivia Palumbo

Olivia is a senior here at GVSU studying psychology in hopes of becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor. She has an interest in Women and Gender studies as well in the geriatric population and hopes to utilize those interests in her future career. In her free time, she enjoys exploring nature, spending time with friends and family, cooking, and watching YouTube! She is thrilled to become part of the Psych Friends family and to meet as many people as possible with a similar passion for helping others as her own. 

Rachel Kloss

Senior Psychology Major & Sociology Minor

Rachel is a Senior majoring in Psychology and Minoring in Sociology. After graduating, she plans on going to grad school for Social Work to become a Marriage and Family Therapist! In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her friends and going to coffee shops. She is very passionate about the Psych Friends program, as it offers information about the psychology program and graduate programs that she found very helpful. She is extremely excited to keep making this program wonderful and to meet new people through the mentoring process!

Reba Koratich

Junior Behavioral Neuroscience Major

My name is Reba, and I'm in my 3rd year at GVSU. My major is behavioral neuroscience, and I have a pre-PA emphasis. Some of my favorite hobbies are hiking, thrift shopping, reading, and learning how to bake/cook. A few interesting facts about me are that I'm left-handed and was born in Georgia.

Sydney Spotts

Junior Psychology Major with Pre-OT Emphasis Aging & Adult Life Minor

Sydney hopes to attend graduate school to become an occupational therapist. Mentoring has always been a passion of hers, and she has pursued every occasion to be a part of the process. She loves the opportunity to lead others and to be a means of support during times when it is most needed. In her free time, she loves to hang out with friends and family, workout, spend time in the sun, and watch Netflix. Sydney is excited about Psych Friends and the potential it provides to strengthen the psychology community!

Theresa Abbott

Senior Psychology Major

Theresa is a senior at Grand Valley State University who hopes to attend graduate school to become a licensed clinical psychologist. She has a major in psychology and a minor in both  applied statistics and criminal justice. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, being outdoors, and doing small activities, such as puzzles. She looks forward to being a mentor because it provides the opportunity to meet new people and share knowledge.