Letter from the GSC Chair

Hello, SPSSI students, faculty, applied scientists, and beyond!

I am excited to be writing to you all as the incoming chair of SPSSI’s Graduate Student Committee (GSC) for 2019-2020. I began my journey with the GSC in 2017 as the first elected Member-at-Large Diversity focus, and have had the pleasure of serving as the Chair-Elect over the last year. I often call SPSSI my “home” organization. The values, goals, and initiatives that SPSSI functions by are ones that I share and hold close to my work, whether that is within research, advocacy, or teaching. SPSSI’s amazing leadership and membership make me proud to have the opportunity to work with you all to further the organization’s mission.

The outgoing GSC made great progress during the 2018-2019 year. A few highlights of their work include:

• Over twenty publications from SPSSI Graduate Student members in Social Issues from Student Perspectives by Christina Lapytskaia (past Editor).
• Benjamin Blankenship (past Membership Coordinator) hosting the largest GSC meet-up to date at the annual Society for Personality and Social Psychology annual conference in Portland, Oregon, with over 40 attendees.
• A successful second Diversity Preconference session during SPSSICon in San Diego co-facilitated by myself and Darlingtina Atakere (past Diversity Focus), with over 35 attendees and seven great speakers.
• A successful second International Student Lunch during SPSSICon hosted by Nuha Alshabani (past Policy & Applied Work Focus) and Darlingtina Atakere (past Diversity Focus).
• Paired dozens of SPSSI graduate students with mentors during the Mentor Luncheon at SPSSICon, coordinated by Benjamin Blankenship (past Membership Coordinator).
• The creation of a Writing Accountability group for graduate students by Kevin Carriere (past Academic Focus). To join this group, contact the current Member-at-Large Academic Focus, Zahra Mirnajafi at z.mirnajafi@uq.net.au
• Four webinars hosted by Kevin Carriere (past Academic Focus) and Nuha Alshabani (past Policy & Applied Work Focus), many of which can be viewed on SPSSI’s Youtube channel.

I am excited to work with the incoming committee to continue these initiatives and create new ones to best serve SPSSI’s graduate student members. If you are interested in becoming more involved in any of our work, please Contact Us!

Stay up to date our upcoming events and opportunities for SPSSI’s student membership. Please watch for emails about student initiatives, consider submitting a short piece to the Social Issues from Student Perspectives publication, and follow us on Facebook (@SPSSIGraduateStudents) to learn about more publication, grant, award, and other opportunities.

Forward,

jaboa lake
GSC Chair 2019-2020

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