Fourteen students from across the university will serve on UCF’s first Graduate Student Advisory Council beginning this month.
The students were selected from a pool of more than 150 applicants and represent all colleges across the university, including UCF Online, who are attending part-time or full-time. They will serve for one year and work directly with the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies Elizabeth Klonoff.
“The overwhelming response to our call for volunteers demonstrates our students care about creating a supportive environment,” Klonoff says. “I look forward to working with them to build a community where none of our graduates feel invisible and instead are a critical part of UCF’s community fabric.”
The council members will share experiences, identify, and suggest solutions to challenges unique to graduate students and make recommendations to the college to build a welcoming and inclusive graduate community.
Candidates must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and no record of any violations of UCF’s Golden Rule. They will meet monthly with the dean.
The council members for 2021-2022 are:
College of Arts and Humanities
Christopher Odom, Texts and Technology Ph.D.
College of Business
Gabriela Spieler Tahech ’20, Business Administration MBA
College of Community Innovation and Education
Omelia Dhanraj ’20, Counselor Education MA
Juvens Jean-Noel ’19, Public Administration MPA and Nonprofit Management MNM
College of Engineering and Computer Science
Kevin Chan ’19MS, Electrical Engineering Ph.D.
Jethro Raphael Suarez ’21, Biomedical Engineering MS
College of Graduate Studies
Daryn Dever ’17 ’20MA, Modeling and Simulation Ph.D.
College of Health Professions and Sciences
Coral Roorda, Physical Therapy DPT
College of Medicine
Alexandra Bunea, Biomedical Sciences MS, Integrated Medical Sciences (IMS) Track
College of Nursing
Alexis Marano ’19, Nursing Ph.D.
College of Sciences
Christopher Crowder, Integrative Conservation Biology Ph.D.
Saad Mehmood, Physics Ph.D.
College of Optics and Photonics
Bryan Turo, Optics and Photonics Ph.D.
Rosen College of Hospitality Management
Matthew Romick ’21, Hospitality and Tourism Management MS
