An annual tradition for the Psychology department at Seattle Pacific University, the Hallowed Halls of Marston, returned Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. Marston Hall is home to the School of Psychology, Family, Community, as well as the College of Humanities, Education, and the Arts. Decorated with Halloween decor and events, students were given a chance to meet the Psychology department as a whole at Seattle Pacific.
Bethany Hoff, a developmental psychologist and assistant professor of psychology, is the faculty advisor for both Active Minds and Psi Chi at SPU. Hoff works to create a community between all branches of Psychology at SPU by advocating for department-wide events.
“The Marston Watson hallways can look a little spooky, so why not lean into that?” Hoff said.
Each staff member’s door from the first and third floors of Marston were decorated with their own Halloween-related accessories. Professors handed out candy, spoke to both incoming and returning students and put on a scavenger hunt.
“My favorite part is meeting new students, the student leaders setting everything up wanting to build community and get to apply that and do that this year. Just getting to meet new students who want to know their professors, I mean that is the benefit of being here,” Hoff said.
Seattle Pacific fosters many clubs that have ties to Psychology: Active Minds, Psi Chi, and Psyc-PEERS program; Hallowed Halls was not only a place made to get in touch with faculty, but the student leaders in charge of clubs as well.
Sianna Diloreto is a senior studying business administration and is the publicist for Active Minds. Diloreto and the student leaders working in Active Minds open opportunities for students to interact with counseling events within the Psychology department at Seattle Pacific.
“Active Minds is a worldwide nonprofit organization dedicated towards mental health awareness. Like Honor Societies in a way, how they have chapters, SPU has a chapter of our own: SPU active minds,” Diloreto said. “A lot of times we collaborate with the Student Counseling Health and Wellness Center for all these different events.”
Marissa Wendland, a senior on the behavioral and cognitive neuroscience psychology track and president of SPU’s Psi Chi chapter. Wendland works to create a space for honorary Psychology students to get more hands-on with the department.
“Psi Chi is provided for students who show academic excellence in the Psychology department. There is an application process and there has to be a minimum requirements of credits that a psych student has to do. It is an opportunity for usually second years and above for scholarships and grants for research. It also looks good on grad applications,” Wendland said.
Psychology at SPU has twelve different concentrations, some Bachelors of Arts as well as Bachelors of Sciences. With such a variety of tracks, the Psychology department has specialized staff for each concentration; all faculty members have an office in Marston, and tried to be accessible for the Hallowed Hall event. This allowed students to reach out to or meet the faculty of their specific track, creating space to get to know them, their office and peers in a casual setting.
Creating a place where students feel safe and comfortable is important to the SPU Psychology department. They host events such as Hallowed Halls to settle those nerves. There will be more upcoming events from the psychology department to get involved and create community.
For more information on SPU Psychology events, follow @spuspfc on Instagram.
