Arts and Sciences graduate students weave community connections into their work

Graduate students have a reputation for being solitary creatures, tucked away in a lab or in a corner of the library, diligently working away at a research project. But graduate education is more than mastering expertise in a specific discipline. Increasingly, collaboration and community engagement are essential to student success as graduate students look for opportunities that prepare them for their careers, whether that’s as a researcher or outside of academia.

In the College of Arts and Sciences, one option for building those skills and connections is a graduate fellowship program administered by the college’s Office of Engagement. Graduate Engagement Assistants (GEAs) work with community partners, in collaboration with faculty and staff advisors, to integrate their expertise into their partners’ work and in turn learn from experts in the communities that welcome them.