Dominican University junior Esmeralda Mariscal is one of only eight students across the country to receive a 2018-2019 undergraduate scholarship from Psi Chi, an international honor society in psychology with 1,500 chapters in the United States, Canada and multiple countries. The honor society received 165 applications for the $3,000 scholarship. Mariscal, a resident of Cicero, is pursuing an undergraduate degree in psychology at Dominican University. A first-generation college student, Mariscal became interested in psychology as a student at Morton East High School. While taking an AP psychology class, she was interested in the topic of memory retention. “I am interested in how individuals retain memories and the accuracy of those memories over time. I am studying how the emotional component of memories can keep them vivid in the mind,” she said. Mariscal is conducting research with her Dominican psychology professor on how young people learn to cope with stress. She and a group of fellow Dominican students are mentoring students at an elementary school in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood and teaching them healthy coping skills. Many of the students are dealing with community violence, poverty, lack of resources, underfunded schools and family stress. After graduating, Mariscal plans on working as a case manager or advocate for a nonprofit organization serving an ethnic population. She also is considering pursuing a master’s degree or law school to prepare her for serving as a victims’ advocate in the courts.