President of our Psi Chi Chapter. Betty unexpectedly passed away on January 15. Betty played a major role in our departm
I am writing on behalf of the Queens College Psychology Department regarding Betty Chan, the President of our Psi Chi Chapter. Betty unexpectedly passed away on January 15. Betty played a major role in our department, and her absence was felt within days of her passing, though we did not find out right away the sad reason for her absence. In addition to her service as chapter president, Betty volunteered at the Queens College Psychological Center, and was a research assistant in the Psychology lab of Professor Justin Storbeck. Betty was driven to learn, grow, and contribute to her community. One thing that set her apart from the other Psi Chi presidents we’ve had over the last few years was her dedication to fundraising and social awareness. During the Fall semester, she organized events to raise hundreds of dollars for The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and for Domestic Violence Awareness. She had additional events planned for this semester, and would no doubt have executed them with the warmth and enthusiasm she brought to all her projects. Ms. Chan was an active and valued member of the Queens College Psychological Clinic (QCPC) Undergraduate Volunteer Corps. Intelligent, compassionate, motivated, and enthusiastic; her commitment to de-‐stigmatizing mental illness, and dedication to mentorship in psychology perfectly exemplified QCPC’s mission. Understanding that quality mental health services are often difficult to access, underutilized, and prematurely terminated in marginalized communities, she took on a leadership role among her peers, guiding the group to support community access to quality psychological services. For example she spearheaded awareness projects to help local communities that had experienced severe trauma in their home countries to access services at QCPC. Ms. Chan also contributed to shaping new opportunities for professional development and mentorship for the undergraduate students at the clinic who were considering the mental health fields. Betty was an inspiration for her fellow students and drew involvement from them. I can’t stress enough how challenging this is at a commuter college where students have so much else going on off campus, but Betty was in constant contact with her fellow students in Psi Chi to keep the ball rolling. It is truly a tragedy that Betty is gone. She was on track to graduate with honors, and I have no doubt that as an alumna she would have gone on to accomplish great things and do Queens College proud. Her passing is a loss for Psi Chi and the profession. Robert Lanson, Chairman and Associate Professor Psychology Department Queens College/ City University of New York