L&S diversity group connects graduate students to university life

Freshman year can be a daunting time for undergraduates, filled with tougher classes, unfamiliar faces and enough homework to force them to claim residency at the library.

But surprisingly, even graduate students can get a dose of the freshman jitters during their first year — especially graduate students of color, who often face a social transition to a new school that can leave them feeling isolated.

A group of about 60 new graduate students in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s College of Letters and Science (L&S) are bucking that trend through a group called Community of Graduate Research Scholars (C-GRS). The group creates a community network for beginning graduate students from underrepresented groups through a combination of social, civic and professional events.

“The goal of the program is to reduce the isolation of incoming students,” says Judi Roller, L&S associate dean for diversity and cross-college initiatives. She says that although graduate students who come to UW–Madison with teaching or research assistantships already have built-in community networks, Advance Opportunity fellows (AOF) — who are recruited from underrepresented groups — do not automatically get that social safety net.

“In graduate work, there aren’t as many built-in connections. It’s not similar to undergraduates who usually live in the same area or dorm, take relatively the same classes and have social programs available. Having some kind of connection (for graduate students) is really critical in terms of comfort,” Roller says. “In addition, there’s an isolation that comes from being a minority on a very large campus.”

Myeshia Price, a first-year graduate student in developmental psychology, knows the feeling of adjusting to a new environment as a minority. She grew up in a military family that moved often and even lived in Japan for three years. “Being over there, just because you’re an American, you’re a minority,” she says.

“High school was a lot less welcoming,” she adds. When Price began high school in San Diego, she says that the student population was 80 percent white and 1 percent black, and some students openly expressed their racism.

“Being here, I don’t experience anything like that,” she says.

Price says that she gets together with other C-GRS members to attend campus events or just “take a breather” and talk about their workloads. “When you start looking around and feeling that no one relates to you, it’s nice to know there’s other people in the same situation that you are,” she says.

Aaron Butler, a second-year graduate student studying philosophy of science, suggests that building a social network is beneficial for a student’s academic career as well. “When a person moves to a new community, it can create nervousness, which can be distracting to schoolwork,” he says. “The community network in C-GRS reduces anxiety and distraction.”

To build that community network within the program, student members have formed social interest groups “to encourage students to hang out,” says Butler. He’s a member of the film interest group and plans movie nights for the members. C-GRS members also hold potlucks and recently organized a salsa dancing event complete with lessons.

Not limited to movies and dancing, Butler also enjoys the professional events organized by C-GRS. He says that a recent panel discussion, in which he learned how to find outside funding for research, was especially beneficial. C-GRS is also planning a workshop on the subject of building professional presentation skills.

C-GRS is comprised of graduate students who have received an Advanced Opportunity Fellowship. AOF eligibility is open to students who are from underrepresented ethnic or socioeconomic groups, or who have participated in a McNair or People program as an undergraduate. Wisconsin residents who are first-generation college graduates and past participants in a TRIO program are also eligible.

Advanced Opportunity fellows receive one year of financial support including full tuition, segregated fees, a scholarship award and a monthly stipend. In the second year, the fellows receive a stipend and are linked to either a teaching assistant or research assistant position.

Price says she received two other offers for graduate school, but “the AOF offer definitely stood out.” Because the program doesn’t require its recipients to be a teaching assistant or research assistant in their first year, Price says she’s not as stressed as she would be otherwise.

Like most graduate students, Price will eventually take on the role of teaching assistant during her stay at UW–Madison. And, like many graduate students, she hopes to continue teaching and conducting research as a professor. She understands the importance of having a diverse faculty on a college campus. “It doesn’t make a difference in the quality of the class, but professors each have their own flair,” she says.

Roller agrees. “If you only have knowledge coming from one section (of society), you only have one focus,” she says. “In a university, you want a broad spectrum. Not having that diversity on campus limits students’ experiences.”

The C-GRS program follows the lead of the College of Engineering’s Graduate Engineering Research Scholars (GERS). In a field that lacks representation from women and minorities, GERS has worked to recruit and retain underserved groups of engineering graduate students in the past six years.

Now in its second year, L&S C-GRS can already boast its success rates. In 2006, the acceptance rate for Advanced Opportunity fellowships has increased 24 percent from 2005. This year, L&S extended more AOF offers to graduate students than in the past four years and has received its highest percentage of acceptances. The C-GRS program also received a 2006 Chancellor’s Best Practice Award.

“I really think it’s great that the program exists,” Butler says. “It’s important to have groups that address diversity issues rather than ignoring them.”

The college received funding from the National Science Foundation to help finance the diversity efforts along with seven universities, including Northwestern and Ohio State.