Holly Lalicata, Staff Writer
Graduate students Ashwin Bangar Mallikarjun and Vishakha Ghaghada attend “Donuts with the Director and Coffee with the Curator” event at the Mardigian Library. Photo//Holly Lalicata
UM-Dearborn is proud of their graduate students and is taking the chance to highlight these hardworking students. Throughout this week, graduate students were invited to numerous events each day that brought the community together to learn and connect with one another.
This annual week-long event started in 1993 by the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students as a way to appreciate the effort these graduate and professional students bring to class everyday.
Graduate students were invited to events consisting of conversations with deans, cookies and coffee meals, hot cocoa chats, events with the library’s curator, coloring events, wellness tables offering free plants to take home to grow, poster events, board games, and more fun-filled activities.
Tuesday, April 4, the Mardigian Library hosted a “Donuts with the Director and Coffee with the Curator” event where all graduate students were invited. There, two graduate students spoke about what they enjoyed about this week and their experience at UM-Dearborn.
Grad students were excited about this week because it showed that UM-D sees graduate students as an equal part of this university, which made graduate student research assistant, Ashwin Bangar Mallikarjun, feel appreciated.
Grad student Vishakha Ghaghada mentioned that many other universities do not have this type of appreciation for grad students. She said that UM-Dearborn’s community “feels like home” and that the “teaching staff and students have been so supportive” in her student journey.
Grad Student Appreciation Week reinforced this idea, and Ghaghada was happy that this week was filled with “activities that will help [her] look for jobs” post-graduation. She also highlighted CECS’s professional headshot event from Monday night as one of her favorites.
Both Mallikarjun and Ghaghada agreed that the events that campus hosts during the Graduate Appreciation Week and throughout the semester, such as career fairs, professional headshots and more, are needed because it makes it easier to find jobs post-grad.
Looking ahead to UM-Dearborn’s graduate programs, Mallikarjun and Ghaghada both recommended that professionals receive their master’s degree after having experience in their field.
Ghaghada worked with program management after receiving her bachelor’s degree and loved that career. She said that she loved it so much that she “wanted to master it.” Now part of UM-Dearborn, Ghaghada says that the community is supportive and very welcoming.
Mallikarjun said that his classes at UM-Dearborn are helping him with his career at Stellantis, and that he is appreciative of the opportunity to expand his knowledge.
Our graduate students work hard, and UM-Dearborn is committed to showing its appreciation through Graduate Student Appreciation Week!
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