Meet the Forest Biomaterials Graduate Student Association

The Forest Biomaterials Graduate Student Association (GSA) is the student organization within our department dedicated to supporting graduate students. Over the last year, the GSA has revamped many of its programs to better serve our graduate students. GSA Vice President Amelys Britto explained, “We are them. We know what we need and want to be a part of making this community a better place to work.” Over the last year, the four GSA officers have been hard at work improving the graduate community within Forest Biomaterials. The officers have developed three main recurring types of events throughout the year.

Each month, they meet to celebrate all of the birthdays in that month. GSA President David Cruz said these celebrations are an essential part of the GSA’s mission to create a community environment within the department. He also said they provide a valuable opportunity to meet and converse with students in other research groups. Additionally, at each celebration meeting, the students nominate and select one student to receive a Lab Buddy Award. Recipients of the monthly award are nominated for their contribution to lab safety, contribution to lab operations and/or personal support for others. Cruz explained that the monthly awards are a simple way of recognizing the students who serve in their everyday work.

The GSA has also launched a semi-monthly training program called “Training with the FB Masters.” These seminars focus on various topics important to graduate students not emphasized in the classroom. Past topics have included time management presented by Dr. Jameel, self-motivation taught by Dr. Pasquinelli, career transitions in academia taught by Dean Dr. Floyd, and the impact of uncertainty on mental health facilitated by Ms. Johnston of the University Counseling Center. These seminars are helping to round out the graduate student degree with the soft skills not typically emphasized during their program.

Finally, the GSA hosts regular social and destress events. The purpose behind these events is quite simply to take students’ minds off of research and allow them to interact with their peers in non-work settings. In February, they held a flower pot and canvas painting event (pictured above). Vice President Amelys Britto sums up this event as her favorite of the year because it allowed students to use a different side of their brain and block out thinking about research for several hours; something she thinks is incredibly necessary for maintaining their mental health.

In addition to their recurring events, the GSA is also planning an industry visit to allow students to see the industrial facilities that many alumni work in. They hope to visit a facility over the summer when students are less busy without classes being taught. However, they are waiting to make definitive plans until the Covid pandemic allows for this type of activity. 

Finally, the GSA has developed new onboarding documents and training for new graduate students. President Cruz explains that sometimes even something as simple as finding the restroom can be a challenge for students new to the department. He went on to say that helping new students feel comfortable and at home has been one of the most impactful things the GSA has done all year.

President Cruz summed up his own experience and the other officers’ experiences as a part of the GSA. He said, “What we as a team have enjoyed the most of being part of the GSA board is having the opportunity to provide ‘spaces’ for graduate students where they can interact and get to know each other better. We believe that our work has contributed not only to provide graduate students with relevant information about soft skills that will be useful for them once they get into their professional careers after graduate school, but also to reinforce our graduate student community interpersonal relationships that would translate into a solid background for our professional trusted network in the near future.”

The GSA board has certainly been hard at work this year to make an impact on the department, and we look forward to what they will continue to do throughout the remainder of the year.