Transcript: Graduate Student Assembly

Hello, Comets. Good afternoon.

I am Megha Hooli, second-year master’s student in Business Analytics and the current President of Graduate Student Assembly.

I am here today representing Graduate Student Assembly.

And I am honored to represent almost 9,000 graduate students at UT Dallas.

Thanks to the help of President Benson making, we, as the governing body and many other supporters at the university.

This was a significant step in ensuring graduate student voices will be always represented on campus.

In the past year, GSA has fought for the initiative related to pandemic, like TA insurance waiver, diversity, and many more.

And many events which will positively impact graduate students.

As Dr. Prakash was saying that the TA insurance waiver was really helpful for the all the graduate students.

Now that we are all back to school, we have different problems like the current GSA team is working on mental health struggles, back to schools, TA/RA stipend increase, and better connectivity at UTD public transport — which is a DART issue that we are, which is one of the biggest issue for all the graduate students– diversity initiative, and many more.

I can assure you that GSA will continue to fight for these goals over this upcoming year and beyond until change occurs.

As a student governing body, our sole purpose is to improve overall experience of you as a graduate student at UT Dallas.

We organize on-campus events, engage with university departments and organizations, to push for initiatives that would benefit you.

Hence, I urge all the grad students to attend events and initiatives.

These events will allow you to learn about the faculties or facilities available for you at UT Dallas, socialize with other graduate students, and participate in networking opportunities that could potentially open doors to your future career.

Our General Meetings are scheduled for the last Friday of every month. We encourage every one to participate and speak up at the problems that you’re facing at UTD.

This is an opportunity for all the grad students to raise their voice for changes they would like to have as graduate students at UT Dallas.

As a fellow graduate student, I know this endeavor comes with unique opportunities and challenges.

GSA recognizes this and strives to develop a network that would benefit you.

This year, the GSA is eager to strengthen the sense of community among the graduate students at UT Dallas.

We hope we can count on your support to make our council a robust and inclusive voice for all graduate students.

College can be overwhelming, humbling, and even painful at times. Although it is not easy, you all adapt to it eventually.

It is like riding a rollercoaster, but before riding it, you must convince yourself that you like rollercoasters.

So, trust the process; I know UTD will help you achieve your goals. Please reach out to me if I can help you in
any way.

GSA remains the mission to meet the needs of graduate students at University of Texas at Dallas so that they can flourish in all areas of life while receiving a degree from a top-ranking university.

Thank you for your time, and I wish you all the best.