"Serving on the Board of Directors for the GSA-UW has been extremely rewarding for me. Despite the readings and meetings, we’ve built a community of folks passionate about bettering the graduate student experience, and whose faces I’m happy to see on Zoom every month. Until I was elected to the position, I didn’t fully grasp how much work goes into this organization, to keep providing the services students enjoy and don’t think twice about. I’ve embraced our challenge to increase students’ familiarity with the GSA and recognition of which services we provided versus the University, and just this year it’s been really encouraging to see more engagement with the Council and folks putting their names forward for the Board seats. Wherever my career takes me, I will definitely use the skills I’ve gained from the organization’s governing branch."

"Serving on the Board (as ex-officio member) has been a very rewarding experience. I have been able to deepen my understanding of corporate governance and improve my skills in policy development and compliance. By serving on Board committees, I have been able to expand my skills in performance monitoring as well as risk management and reporting. Although there is a lot of work to be done which makes the experience challenging, I still appreciate the exposure to a corporate governance and highly recommend graduate students take advantage of this opportunity to develop themselves professionally."

"I have grown and increased my interests in politics. Getting to advocate and stand for issues that are important to you and others can have a big impact. I learnt that it is important to be heard and seen. The moment you take action you find purpose in what you’re doing and it sparks passion. I would say diplomacy and negotiation skills is something I am still learning. It’s always good to hear different perspectives since there are things I would’ve never thought of on my own. At the same time, it is a great skill to learn how to stand up and speak about your thoughts and opinions. Really helps build self-confidence and to speak with conviction. Comradery is also something that I really appreciate. My time with the GSA is short but, the people do make a difference. When people offer to help out and show their kindness it is very warming to know that others care about you and how you can contribute to make this a better experience for current and future students."

"While serving on the GSA-UW Board of Directors, I enhanced my communication, teamwork, and business stewardship skills. I improved my communication skills through writing reports, communicating constructive feedback in a concise way, and defending a point of view. My teamwork skills improved through working on smaller committees, handling conflict, delegating tasks, and setting realistic group deadlines. I also learned about business stewardship through navigating legal responsibilities, interpreting financial statements, and researching governance practices. As someone with career ambitions in academia, I view these skills as helpful for communicating my research, working on teams, and navigating organizational environments such as this academic environment. I also enjoy serving on the Board of Directors as a way to contribute to the graduate student community through maintaining a strong organization that represents graduate students. The intimate knowledge I gain also lets me help my graduate student peers by providing them with current information on the supports available to them."

"I have known more about governance and how different organizations work. I learned that it takes effort to create a structure that helps advocate for students’ needs and alleviate their concerns. While it is always good to hear different perspectives as they shed the light on the situation from different angles that I wouldn’t see on my own, I have learnt how to voice my own opinion in a way that respects everyone else. While my tenure in GSA is temporary, the team spirit makes all the difference. It is amazing to see people stepping up to help out and show that they care about creating a better experience for current and future graduate students."