Meet the 2014-2015 Graduate Student Association officers

The newly elected Graduate Student Association (GSA) officers participated in a Q&A to help the Rice community get better acquainted with them. Their responses appear below.

ALESSANDRA FORCUCCI

Name: Alessandra Forcucci.
Office: President.
Major: Bioengineering.
Hometown: Westford, Mass.
Why I came to Rice: Great research, great community and much warmer than Massachusetts!
Why I joined GSA: To further my involvement in grad student life and issues. As manager of Valhalla last year, I had come to know graduate students from almost every department at Rice. Becoming a member of the Graduate Student Association’s Executive Committee was an effective way to become more immersed in important university issues and give back to the graduate student community whom I have come to know over the past year.

ALI AYREMLOU

Name: Ali Ayremlou.
Office: External vice president.
Major: Electrical and computer engineering.
Hometown: Iran.
Why I came to Rice: I received my B.S. from Sharif University of Technology, the best school in Iran, and was admitted to several top U.S. universities. I chose Rice University since it is always one of the pioneers in my field of studies.
Why I joined GSA: I have served as the president of Rice Iranian Society for two years and I’m honored to serve a greater community of graduate students as the vice president of GSA.

LYNN FAHEY

Name: Lynn Fahey.
Office: Internal vice president.
Department: Sociology.
Hometown: Houston.
Why I came to Rice: I wanted to join the Sociology Department at Rice because of the productivity of the department and the quality of the mentorship available. The faculty in our department find time to be both great researchers and great teachers. As an aspiring researcher-teacher, I saw no better fit than the opportunity to learn from this dedicated group of sociologists.
Why I joined GSA: I have had a great experience as a graduate student at Rice (which has been enhanced by the GSA), and I wanted to get involved to give back to a community that has given so much to me. I am interested in helping start and continue programs that are beneficial to grad students across departments. I am excited for what this new year will bring!

SARAH KIIM

Name: Sarah Kim.
Office: Secretary.
Major: Computer science.
Hometown: Centreville, Va.
Why I came to Rice: My research interests are in bioinformatics, so Rice’s location next to the Texas Medical Center seemed like a great place for collaborations with the surrounding hospitals and medical schools. When I first visited Rice during prospectives weekend, it just felt like a good fit. I’m very happy I made this decision and have no regrets.
Why I joined GSA: I wanted to become more involved with the GSA so I could give back to the graduate student community. I’ve had a wonderful experience at Rice so far, so I thought it would be nice to be a part of creating that experience for other students.

SABARETHINAM KAMESHWAR

Name: Sabarethinam Kameshwar (I go by Kameshwar).
Office: Treasurer.
Major: Civil engineering.
Hometown: Delhi, India.
Why I came to Rice: I joined Rice because Rice is a very good school for research with great faculty.
Why I joined GSA: I wanted to be a part of the GSA and serve the student community. Also, I hope that it will be a great opportunity to learn new things.

JD DORNELL

Name: JD Dornell.
Office: Parliamentarian.
Major: Biochemistry and cell biology.
Hometown: Houston.
Why I came to Rice: I decided to pursue my Ph.D. at Rice because of my familiarity with this neometropolitan place in conjunction with all of the collaborative opportunities available throughout the medical center.
Why I joined GSA: My experience here at Rice has been very enriching and essential to my development thus far, so it was very natural for me to serve the graduate student body as a GSA officer.

CHRISTOPHER DOHNA

Name: Christopher Dohna.
Office: Historian.
Department: Philosophy.
Hometown: Oceanside, Calif.
Why I came to Rice: I came to Rice because it afforded me the opportunity to study what interests me (while also being paid to do so) and offered an opportunity to teach that subject. This sort of thing is too often overlooked as the best thing about graduate school.
Why I joined GSA: I joined GSA to interact with people outside my department and pursue interests outside philosophy in a relaxed but productive setting.

ORNSIREE JUNCHAYA

Name: Ornsiree Junchaya.
Office: International student liaison.
Major: Bioscience and health policy.
Hometown: Bangkok.
Why I came to Rice: To have the opportunity to explore health-policy implications on the translation and commercialization of Rice’s cutting-edge research and be able to implement my ideas to real practices at the Texas Medical Center.
Why I joined GSA: I originally joined the GSA as the first representative for my department. I’m excited to now be a part of the GSA officer team as the international student liaison, where I hope to continue bringing great activities and events to the student body.

Editor’s note: Also elected to the GSA was Mike Farner, publicity and marketing chair. His responses were not available by deadline but will be posted when we receive them.