Letter from a current UC graduate student

I’m delighted to be serving for my third year on the officer board of the Graduate Association for Teaching Enhancement (GATE), which is supported through the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning. GATE is an interdisciplinary student group founded by graduate students in 2011 to serve graduate student teaching needs. Our members provide pedagogical workshops specifically for graduate students by emphasizing the scholarship of teaching and learning while providing practical strategies to use immediately in the classroom. I served for three years as a teaching assistant, and for the last two years, have taught my own courses thanks to my department’s commitment to its graduate students.

In addition to GATE, I’ve also served on the officer board of the Political Science Graduate Student Association (PSGSA). PSGSA regularly brings in outside speakers and is open to all UC students. This year PSGSA has assisted our department in raising funds to bring in two top-notch scholars in gender and politics, Professor Amrita Basu and Professor J. Ann Tickner. PSGSA has also become known for its women and film series. Each year we raise grant money to purchase an institutional copy of an educational documentary that highlights women’s involvement in politics around the world. So far, we’ve shared films covering Brazil, South Africa and Tunisia. PSGSA provides professional opportunities for graduate students to support departmental goals as well as to launch initiatives of our own.

With funding from the Taft Research Center Dissertation Fellowship and the Graduate School Dean’s Fellowship, I have had the privilege of engaging in fieldwork and immersing myself in leadership opportunities within GATE and PSGSA as well as public engagement outside campus. The Graduate School’s commitment to professionalization has also been critical to my self-development, especially the Graduate Student Expo, which challenges students to improve their research communication skills. Other professional activities available on campus, such as humanitiesNOW, an annual conference at the Taft Research Center, support campus life and provide graduate students with accessible means for gaining conferencing experience.

Each year, UC graduate students continue to enhance the diversity and overall impact in areas of research, teaching and service endeavors. All are part of our commitment to the UC community.