Summit focuses on improving graduate student experience for all

Summit focuses on improving graduate student experience for all
GSA teams up with international student leaders to improve communication

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

The Graduate Student Association (GSA) reached out to Rice’s international clubs last week to ensure their voices were heard at the first Rice International Graduate Student Leadership Summit.

Leaders from 10 Rice international organizations joined the GSA leadership at the summit to discuss efforts to improve the overall graduate student experience at the university. About 30 percent of Rice’s graduate students are from 74 other countries.

“Rice has its own slice of the world in its international graduate student population,” said Abhilash Krishna, GSA treasurer and organizer of the event. “Our hope is that this event will pave the way for much stronger ties between these clubs and the GSA. We aim to bring leaders from various international clubs on campus together to exchange ideas and mutual experiences. “

Krishna said areas of opportunity include funding, residential life, career counseling and cultural immersion.

Rice President David Leebron attended the event, along with Paula Sanders, dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies, and Adria Baker, executive director of the Office of International Students and Scholars.

“This summit brings together student organizations that represent the intersection of two groups that are vitally important to Rice University — our international students and our graduate students,” Leebron said. “We are continuing our efforts to support appropriate ways to build a sense of community within both groups and with the entire university. We remain committed to providing an excellent education for our graduate students, and making sure Rice is welcoming and supportive to all of our international students.”

Rice’s Vision for the Second Century strategy includes a commitment to raise the university’s research and scholarship profile, strengthen graduate and postdoctoral programs and make Rice a more international university.

Significant steps have been taken to improve services and benefits for graduate students in recent years, Sanders said. In the past five years, Rice has increased graduate student housing by almost 80 percent, increased the level of stipends in the humanities and social sciences by about 28 percent and steadily reduced the amount that graduate students pay for health insurance.

“Many people have been working very hard to execute the goals set forth in the Vision for the Second Century,” Sanders said. “This summit is a great example of how our graduate students reach out to others to achieve common goals and work to create a sense of belonging and community.”

Krishna said the international clubs play an important role.  

“Incoming international students face the daunting task of adjusting to a completely new place,” Krishna said. “International clubs play a pivotal role in easing that process by organizing various activities and providing orientation.”

He said international students who have few U.S. contacts to call upon for help often rely on the clubs for support.

Among other services, the GSA can help secure the necessary funding for cultural activities and serve as a conduit for information, he said. 

“In case of an emergency like a hurricane, it becomes imperative that Rice has an emergency response tailored to international students,” Krishna said.

At the summit, the groups brainstormed ways to get critical information out as quickly as possible during an emergency and provide avenues of support for international students. The groups discussed sharing their e-mail groups or listservs and having a representative from each club attend GSA meetings, which are held the third Tuesday of every month in the GSA Lounge in the basement of Rice Memorial Center.

The summit also featured a speaker from the Center for Student Professional Development. Kristine Gentry, graduate student and postdoctoral adviser, talked about the unique career-counseling needs of international students.

“Being on a temporary student visa, international students face a very unique circumstance during their job searches,” Krishna said. “Providing international student-specific career counseling will go a long way in advancing their careers.”

For more information about the GSA, visit http://gsa.rice.edu/. For more information about the Office of International Students and Scholars, visit http://oiss.rice.edu/.