Graduate SGA Leaders Look to Connect Community to Campus Life

Haden Boone and Kiera Tran felt at home at Georgia Tech as undergraduates, and couldn't imagine continuing their academic careers anywhere else after graduating. Now both Ph.D. candidates, the new leaders of the graduate Student Government Association (SGA) want to make sure their classmates have a similar experience by taking full advantage of everything the Institute has to offer.  

Boone, now in his seventh year at Georgia Tech, was actively involved with student organizations and the Alumni Association as an undergraduate and felt inspired to run for SGA president when he experienced the "culture shock" of seeing graduate students hesitant to engage on campus.  

"Having been here for so long and being connected to the Institute, I felt that I had a good vantage point to help improve the student experience and help get graduate students involved in this institution," he said.  

The new administration understands that creating a sense of community among graduate students begins with understanding the unique experience of different student groups. Along with the vast number of online students in master's degree programs, international students make up nearly 60% of the graduate student body on campus. Graduate SGA Executive Vice President Tran, who moved to the United States from Vietnam, is well-versed in the challenges these students face and has prioritized finding long-term solutions to improve their experience.  

"From the language barrier and culture shock to isolation and belonging, these components control the mental health of international graduate students," Tran said. "Personally, I found it rather difficult to speak up or talk about discrimination and sexual violence matters, especially for international students. Being in a strange country with a distinctive legal system can be overwhelming. Despite that, I was raised at Georgia Tech and know how resourceful and supportive the Institute is. One of my goals for this term is to create pathways for students to learn more about this process so that they can feel more comfortable raising their concerns." 

Additionally, the administration continues to work with the Office of Graduate Education to improve financial support and job opportunities for international students. This coincides with a push to better connect all graduate students to Tech's alumni network and expand research opportunities for master's and Ph.D. students. 

Communication is a top priority for Boone and Tran, and in the absence of a centralized graduate school to set policy and share updates, the leaders continuously seek input from representatives across Colleges, Schools, individual labs, and cultural organizations. These conversations guide the pair as they meet with campus leaders to advocate for solutions, and some of the most active participants are among the nearly 20,000 online students. 

"Ironically, it's the people farthest away who are easiest to reach," Boone said.  

As Ph.D. students, Boone and Tran stressed the importance of the advisor-advisee relationship and their commitment to improving institutional support for such relationships.  

"It can create a huge power dynamic because the advisor has a role in your entire financial livelihood as a graduate research assistant," Boone said. 

As the pair continues to gather feedback from constituents, Boone and Tran complimented Institute leaders, who they say have been proactive participants in their discussions surrounding the equal distribution of resources for graduate students.  

Looking to further the conversation surrounding artificial intelligence on campus, Boone and Tran are identifying ways to use AI to enhance research efforts while also regulating its use in the classroom Georgia Tech has established itself in the AI space with the launch of the Institute’s AI Hub and its inaugural Avant South event, which featured experts showcasing research and real-life applications of the emerging technology. 

Boone is studying operations research in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. When his time at Tech is done, he can envision himself using his SGA experience in the public sector. 

“I really do enjoy coming up with solutions to big ideas and being involved in helping a lot of people,” he said. 

After transferring to Tech from the University of North Georgia as a third-year undergraduate, Tran sharpened her career path and dreams of becoming a professor after studying geophysical glaciology in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. 

While understanding graduate students’ busy schedules, Boone and Tran encourage all of them to get involved and reach out with any suggestions, questions, or concerns at grad.president@sga.gatech.edu or grad.evp@sga.gatech.edu.