Monday Motivation #134 — student takeover! (2/6/23)
Happy Monday!
We are the Spring 2023 Engineering Graduate Leadership Fellows, and we are taking over Katy Colbry’s Monday Motivation newsletter this week to introduce our new cohort. Hopefully you will be hearing about the projects we’re developing around the college of engineering throughout the year and we thought it would be a good idea to tell a little bit about us.
First things first, let us tell you what this program is, as you may be interested in applying for it later this year. The Graduate Leadership Fellows program allows graduate students to develop communication and leadership skills while working on a project that we define and implement. Projects can cover different areas of the graduate school, including communications, graduate student engagement, recruitment, outreach, professional development, inclusion and diversity and the Engineering Graduate Research Symposium.
We come from different departments and have a very diverse background, but we have one thing in common: we are looking to improve the experience of graduate students in the college of engineering. Check out some information about our cohort members (and the attached profile!):
- Michelle was born in Philadelphia and raised in Seoul, South Korea. She studies computational social science and natural language processing. Michelle has a three-year old daughter and likes to practice yoga in her free time. Her favorite food is Tteokbokki, which is a Korean snack food made of rice cake, fish cake, and Korean red chili sauce. Michelle is looking to work on projects that can encourage and motivate women and students with children or dependents.
- Wasif is from Bareilly, India, and he studies the ice formation in soils and how to mitigate the damage caused by the freeze-thaw process on roads. In his free time, Wasif likes to make travel plans, spend time with his family and friends and to learn about science and new technologies. His favorite foods are Chicken Biryani, Seekh Kabab, Gulab Jamun (he loves his wife’s cooking). As a fellow, Wasif would like to help with the Engineering Graduate Symposium and to recruit undergrads for our graduate programs.
- Mandela is a PhD student in CMSE and his research focuses on modeling complex multi-physics problems in plasma science, which is a rapidly growing research area aimed at understanding and predicting the behavior of plasmas in various applications such as fusion reactors, space propulsion systems, and industrial plasma processing. He is from Ghana and his favorite food is Jollof. In his free time, Mandela enjoys cooking, exercising, playing games, and spoken word poetry. His goal as a fellow is to develop and implement targeted outreach efforts that effectively communicate the benefits and opportunities of the graduate program to prospective students. Mandela aims to establish partnerships with organizations, institutions, and community groups to increase awareness of the engineering graduate program and generate a pipeline of qualified applicants. He also aims to provide prospective students with a personalized and engaging experience throughout the recruitment and application process, from initial inquiry to acceptance.
- Jon is a PhD student in the Mechanical Engineering Department from Owosso, Michigan (35 minutes north-east of East Lansing). He studies cryogenic turbomachinery. In his free time, Jon likes to read and explore nature. He also likes to cook and find new restaurants, and his favorite food is Italian. As a fellow, Jon is looking to improve the retention of excellent MSU undergraduate students in academia by promoting events to explain the benefits of grad school and to motivate them about ongoing research projects.
- Erika is also known as YiLin. She is a Master’s student in computer science from China. In her free time, Erika likes to go to the gym and to paint. She also loves to explore new restaurants and food experiences. She likes anything that has matcha! As a fellow, Erika expects to work on projects related to the recruitment of new graduate students as well as with diversity, equity and inclusion of our graduate programs.
- Guangjing is a PhD student in Computer Science and Engineering from China. He studies modern machine learning algorithms for secure and intelligent things. In his free time, Guangjing likes to work out, swim, and to watch movies. His favorite foods are hotpot and dumplings! As a fellow, Gungjing is working with outreach and recruiting of new Engineering Graduate Spartan. He created a website to compile links for different sources around MSU that can help students find the information they need. Check it out: https://spartanlinks.github.io/
- Ritam also goes by Ritz (like the snack!). He is from Kolkata, India, and he is exploring the intersection of AutoML, Interpretable AI, Evolutionary Computation, and Multi-Objective Optimization as part of his PhD research. When Ritz is not in his lab, he can be found playing badminton/table tennis, watching anime, or driving on speedy highways. His favorite foods are Biryani and Chimichanga (there is a tie between these dishes). As a graduate leadership fellow, Ritz wants to help MSU organize more engaging events for improving communication among different departments and work towards the professional development of the students.
- Augusto is a PhD student in Civil Engineering from the south of Brazil. He studies structural fire safety, specifically the fire resistance of concrete bridges. Augusto likes to spend time with his family and friends, to cook and to eat (mostly Italian and Spanish cuisines), and to travel to new places. As a fellow, he works with community engagement by creating these profiles to share more personal information about members of our community. If you’re interested in being featured or know someone, check out more information and Submit an Application or email Augusto at masierog@msu.edu
We created an Instagram account to share information about events and opportunities in the college of engineering. We also hope to interact and engage our community through this account, so please follow us @msu_egr_grad_stu
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Have a great week!
Engineering Graduate Leadership Fellows
Three Things to Try This Week
The Winter Blues — Long and harsh winter without sunlight can make everyone blue. Try to get more sunlight by going outside, stick to a regular sleep schedule, and consider taking vitamin D supplements. Check out this link to find out 10 ways to beat the winter blues: https://www.everydayhealth.com/depression/your-best-weapons-against-the-winter-blues.aspx
Get Support — If one experiences severe depression due to weather changes, they may have a seasonal affective disorder (SAD). If you have been blue this winter for several weeks, try talking to a healthcare provider, or you can always reach out to MSU CAPS: https://caps.msu.edu/
Introversion — It took a lot of courage for me (Michelle), as an introvert, to apply to the Graduate Leadership Fellows program. In a world where extroversion is valued, introverts hide even from themselves. Yet, depending on which study you consult, one-third to one-half of Americans are introverts, says Susan Cain, the author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. So, to many fellow introverts, you do not have to force yourself to be extroverted. Introverts can achieve even more if they hone their natural strengths. Check this link to find out about “The Surprising Benefits of Being an Introvert”: https://time.com/5373403/surprising-benefits-introvert/
More Resources
- Zoom Background Competition — The College of Engineering would like to have a series of Zoom backgrounds that represent different celebrations throughout the year to showcase different cultures, religions, and societal progress toward an inclusive community. Each month a new background will be used to showcase a prominent celebration during that month. The College of Engineering will select up to 12 student winners to receive a prize of $200. The winning Zoom backgrounds will be used by College Administrators and be available to all faculty, staff and students to use as well. Enroll and upload your file(s) to this D2L site: https://apps.d2l.msu.edu/selfenroll/course/1895989
- Preparing a Dissertation Prospectus — This workshop geared toward womxn of color scholars is on Thursday, February 9, 2023, from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. It is the last workshop of Surviving Comprehensive Exams series. To register, check out the following link: https://grad.msu.edu/events/preparing-dissertation-prospectus
- Winter Sports — During the winter we tend to stay inside to maintain ourselves warm, but we can also find ways to enjoy the outside during the winter. Check out some winter sports and recreational activities that you can enjoy here in Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/winter
