Greetings from Your GSS Student Executive 2017-18
The calendar still says May, and the Red Oaks that line Main Mall have already offered a delightful, fresh green canopy of new leaves. But the weather and relaxed tempo across campus says summer is here—and, with it, I hope another year of intellectual adventure for every graduate student at UBC Vancouver.
I would like to take this opportunity to extend a sincere appreciation to the 2016-17 GSS Student Executive for their commitment and dedication to serving fellow graduate students and advocating on key student issues to the University and the Government: Genevieve Cruz (President), Mahshid Ghaffartehrani (VP University and Academic Affairs), Nicholas McGregor (VP External Relations), and Jennifer DeBoer and Taran Dhillon (VP Students).
We enter the new executive year with a sense of momentum, building on some noteworthy strides in the past year. Let me take a moment to send you a warm hello and introduce you to the newly elected GSS Student Executive 2017-18:
- President: Taran Dhillon
- VP University and Academic Affairs: Teilhard Paradela
- VP External Relations: Hanna Murray
- VP Students: Arezoo Alemzadeh Mehrizi
- Financial and Executive Oversight Officer: Dante Mendoza
Looking ahead to the coming 12 months, I hope we will focus not just on the latest student-led campaigns and initiatives. I hope we will look forward to the “ah-ha” moment in a committee meeting that leads to an intriguing idea. The coffee break conversation that prompts a common endeavour that will engage fellow graduate students or create a lifelong friendship. The close reading of an abstruse field publication or the surprising results of a painstaking thesis project that feed our sense of wonder and community—that remind us why we come together, as other graduate students have come together at UBC for the past century, to pursue our curiosity and excellence with passion and without bounds.
May that sense of wonder and community infuse your studies and our work at the GSS in enriching and improving your graduate student life in the year ahead.
Sincerely,
Taran Dhillon, President Graduate Student Society – UBC Vancouver
Photo above (left to right): Teilhard Paradela, Hanna Murray, Taran Dhillon, Arezoo Alemzadeh Mehrizi, and Dante Mendoza
GSS Catch Up
The struggle for housing in Vancouver is a challenge for every UBC graduate student
Off and on-campus housing for UBC students has the lowest rental vacancy rate in Canada. Tell us about your struggle to find peace of mind in this broken market. My Housing Story is an initiative run by the GSS at mygradstory.ca where your voice can be heard, where graduate students can tell their story about their experiences fighting for space at UBC and in the Vancouver community.
Your Story – the story of UBC graduate student – has the power to move hearts and minds. It can drive the construction of new student housing on and around campus. It can enable the construction of higher density housing and it can bring peace of mind to graduate students at UBC for years to come.
To share your housing story or for more information on the My Housing Story campaign, please visit:
GSS Events & Programming
Summer Sports League
This is your chance to make new friends and strengthen your program’s team spirit while having fun under the sun!
Registration deadline (teams & athletes): May 12, 2017
To register and for more information, please visit:
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