Service

The graduate student body of MSU AFRE is diverse, excellent, and productive. Students hail from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. Some students have years of experience working for NGOs or government agencies before joining the department while others started right after completing undergraduate studies. Several students have spouses, children, and extended family to care for while some students left family behind in their hometowns. It has been an honor and a privilege to represent the many interests of AFRE graduate students as a GSO officer.

Throughout my time in GSO leadership, I advocated for AFRE graduate students, helped enact policy changes, and fostered community. This required strong communication skills to solicit, summarize, and convey student concerns to College and Department leaders.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, I used surveys to bring to light the financial, logistical, and mental struggles faced by the graduate student body. In June 2020, I provided a short report outlining survey results which helped the Department plan for the Fall 2020 semester. This document also served as a guide to target outreach to students experiencing day-to-day security and quality of life challenges.

I strongly believe in institutional accountability and quality. My time at MSU, a University known for its institutional failures, has solidified these beliefs and led me to action. In the Spring of 2021, I facilitated a discussion to identify the concerns and needs of graduate students regarding AFRE's department culture. I shared the issues raised by the study body with department leaders who took the suggestions seriously. While still ongoing, this process highlights the importance of setting clear expectations for a workplace, acknowledging power dynamics, and hearing many voices before making executive decisions.

As GSO president, I also served on the AFRE Graduate Policy Committee. This group of faculty and graduate students reviews and revises the program handbook by which AFRE graduate students are bound. I gained an appreciation for the process of gathering information, debating in closed session, and then bringing recommendations to the full faculty body. I learned that while change might be slow, persistence can pay off. This experience also exposed me to the role of faculty committees and I hope to continue this type of work in my next department.

Beyond conducting administrative duties, I worked to build community among my fellow graduate students. Following some informal conversations about cultural norms, I pushed for coffee/tea hours in lieu of "happy hour" style social events. Along with my fellow GSO officers, we instituted these on-campus events to cater to graduate students who refrain from alcohol, balance family and work, or are tight on funds. The GSO continues to work to create spaces that are accessible and inviting to all AFRE graduate students.

Professional Service

Reviewer for Agricultural and Resource Economics Review