Fall 2019 Graduate Orientation Address by the GSA President

"... your work does not happen in a vacuum... I bring this up to remind you that education is supposed to be the great equalizer, but it is not equal. We as a community at CMU should actively seek changes and work toward being better."

Graduate Student Orientation Welcome Address

August 12th, 2019

Delivered by Dacen Waters, GSA President

Good afternoon and welcome everyone. I am a PhD candidate in physics. I also serve as the President of the Graduate Student Assembly, or GSA for short. Over the years, the CMU GSA has made substantive changes to improve the quality of life for graduate students. We advocate for and support the diverse needs of all CMU graduate students (both Masters and PhD students) at the university, local, state, and national levels. For example, our most recent initiative is providing supplemental childcare grants to graduate students with dependents. This program will be rolling out in early September, so be on the lookout for an email from us. We also host a multitude of social events throughout the year. We host a large formal event every semester and provide discounted tickets to local events like Steeler’s games, theater productions, and ski trips. We are also having a BBQ tomorrow (with plenty of veggie options), right out here from 6-8pm and an Ice Cream Social on Wednesday from 5-7pm.

I’ll come back to the GSA, but for now, let me say congratulations for beginning your graduate studies here at Carnegie Mellon. I remember being in your shoes, being so excited. And you should be! I can guarantee that this experience will be unlike any other you have had thus far. So take a moment and appreciate yourself and all those around you that helped make it possible, for the fact that you made it here. Today, I would like to tell you a bit about how I think about my graduate student experience, both within the context of the GSA but also more broadly. 

Preparing for today, I reflected on what I was looking forward to most when I began my time here at CMU, five years ago. I’m from a small town, so I really looked forward to the opportunity to experience life in a new city. Of course, I was excited for the world class education I was going to receive and I also had a general sense that I would have new doors opened for me in professional career, though I had no idea what these would be. All of these proved accurate and underestimated. Pittsburgh is an amazing city, one you should explore and engage with. Professionally, my time at CMU has been very fulfilling, with more opportunities than I could imagine. But my graduate experience has been so much more than that. And now that I am (hopefully) close to finishing my time here, let me take a moment to impress upon you the importance of a holistic graduate student experience.

Your graduate education will be, and should be, challenging. In this experience there is a lot of room for growth, and a lot of room for relationships to form with your fellow graduate students. No one will understand this experience like those around you now. Personally, some of the best friends I’ve ever made in my life were in my first year class, and it’s very bittersweet now to see everyone go off to the next thing in their life, so I advise you to cherish the time. 

Also, in my experience, I have found a lot of value in engaging with my community here at CMU. I’ve been lucky, in my research and with my advisors, to have space to work on issues that I am passionate about, things outside my field of study. Not everyone will have this same opportunity, but I would challenge you all to try and find places where you can make positive change. I think this is important and should be prioritized because I can attest that it is very rewarding. You don’t have to do something silly like I did and run for the President of GSA during the last year of your PhD program. But you can get involved with your department, you can be a GSA department representative, you can go to that political protest downtown, you can volunteer to walk dogs at the local shelter. Whatever you feel passionate about.

I think finding this time is important because your work does not happen in a vacuum. Let me take a story from my own field as an example. Last year, the proposal application process for the Hubble Space Telescope was changed to a double blind application process. This had the immediate effect of equalizing the success rate of applications from men and women PIs, where it had previously been biased towards men. What could be more egalitarian than searching the cosmos? Yet it was not until someone said something. This was a large, top-down change made in a large research institution, you probably won’t make these kinds of changes during your graduate studies. But maybe you can move the needle. 2017 was the first year that CMU’s undergraduate class was a majority women, a great accomplishment, but the graduate student population was still only around 35% and the numbers for domestic minorities were similarly low. Our community is doing better, as President Jahanian mentioned we are now at over 40% women, we are on the right track, but we need your help. I bring this up to remind you that education is supposed to be the great equalizer, but it is not equal. We as a community at CMU should actively seek changes and work toward being better. As an example, our department has a graduate student led book club and discussion group, focused around issues facing women and minorities in STEM fields. It is something small, but meaningful, with a tangible impact on our department. So I implore you once again, do something, speak up, get involved. 

The last thing I recommend from my experience at CMU is to take time for yourself. Grad school is difficult, there will be times you will need to meet challenging deadlines, or be in the lab trying to salvage that experiment at 2am, or be at the point that you physically can’t read one more sentence, but you have to keep going. CMU likes to say ‘our heart is in the work’. I hope it is, I hope you enjoy what you do and feel passionate about it. But also remember to take care of yourself. There is value in taking time off and doing something you enjoy. 

For all of these things, getting involved, making friends, enjoying yourself, the GSA is a great resource. If you want to learn more about us, we will probably be at your department orientation. You can also come to our BBQ tomorrow right here from 6-8pm. And you can email us anytime at GSA@cmu.edu. I will also be on a panel talking about community engagement tomorrow in McConomy Auditorium in the Cohon University Center at 2pm for those who are interested. Personally, I think that GSA is uniquely situated to allow us to work across colleges and departments and find ways to connect and communicate. But whether or not you engage with the GSA, know we are here fighting for you and that our resources are always available whenever you so choose. Thank you all very much for your attention, enjoy the rest of orientation and your time here at CMU. Thanks.