April 2019
For those of you that are unfamiliar with Graduate Resources and Development for Aggies (GRAD Aggies), it is a program for graduate students at A&M to gain professional development. You can even earn a certificate to show for your accomplishments!
The program consists of four main areas that the program offers development in: Academic, Leadership and Communication, Instruction and Assessment, and Career. There are several departments across campus that come together to offer workshops and various activities for participants.
You can earn the Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Certificate as you proceed through the program. Check out the different levels and their requirements here: https://grad.tamu.edu/professional-development/grad-aggies
I am working on earning the Basic Certificate which requires that I attend six GRAD Aggies events and answer reflection questions about each. After I have attended six events, I then must complete a final reflection in order to earn my certificate. Sounds easy enough, right? Then of course, as I mentioned, you can move on to earn the higher-level certificates.
When I first began the program, I was hesitant. How much development could I really gain from six events? But hey, this isn’t a huge time commitment, so I decided to try it out.
I attended a workshop titled “Grad Student Career Fair Preparation” earlier this semester. I am a first semester graduate student; I am not looking for a job quite yet, but I thought that it could come in handy a couple semesters from now. I walked in with an open mind to absorb as much as I could and make it apply to my career path. Little did I know, everything that I would learn at this workshop would be perfectly applicable to a conference that I would attend the following month.
I reviewed how to dress appropriately. I learned to research organizations in advance. I gained knowledge to prepare an “elevator speech”; although I wasn’t interviewing for any jobs at the conference, the quick one-minute speech about myself came in handy in many quick interactions with people. The list goes on and on about what I learned at this workshop; it surprised me how quickly I could put what I learned into action. I was already developing professionally.
I attended another event titled “Grant Writing” which was coordinated by the University Writing Center. I am in a field that has a lot of writing, but I am not necessarily going to be writing any grants for research anytime soon. I was unsure how I could make this session applicable. I wasn’t far into the session before I realized all the things they were teaching about writing grants, I could use to edit grants. I learned what components a grant must have, what grants are often rejected for, and what goes into constructing one.
Flash forward about a month and I was learning about editing grants in my science editing course. Boom. I already was very familiar with the content! (Thanks University Writing Center!)
I have also attended the event called “Grad Student CV, Biosketch, & Cover Letters.” I had to write a cover letter and send my résumé for a fellowship application, so that is why I chose to attend that event. It helped tremendously; I received the fellowship!
Lastly, I attended an event titled “Grad Student LinkedIn and Branding.” I have been constantly updating my LinkedIn and using it to research potential career paths. I am using different online skills that I learned from the event to network. So much development!
I need to attend two more events to earn my certificate and these are the events I am interested in attending to end the semester:
“Grad Student Big Help with Small Talk”
“SCS & GRAD Aggies present: Creating a Life of Balance & Wellness”
“Grad Student Academic Job Search and Networking”
Or having a one-on-one advising appointment with the Money Education Center
The best part of the program, for me, has been the ability to tailor it to meet my personal needs. As you can see, there are a lot of events offered by various departments across campus. The events I mention in this post don’t even scrape the surface of what is offered. I tended to lean towards events coordinated by the Career Center and Writing Center, but if these events don’t seem interesting to you, don’t worry...that’s the beauty of the program! Other departments that are involved in G.R.A.D Aggies include Center for Teaching Excellence, University Libraries, International Student Services, and still so many more!
All the events are valuable for one’s development, but I knew that there were some that would be more beneficial than others for me personally. The ability to pick and choose the events I can attend has made the program enjoyable and worthwhile. I don’t have to sit through workshops that are not applicable to my career nor do I have to attend things that I could find boring. I get to go to events I am excited about and know I can learn a lot from. I look forward to receiving my Basic Certificate later this semester!
I encourage all graduate students to consider participating in GRAD Aggies. I am so glad I did not let my hesitancy stop me; the program has been so valuable for my professional development!
What’s next?
I hope to go on to earn my Intermediate Certificate. I am also super interested in partaking in Academy for Future Faculty (AFF).
How are you professionally developing? Please leave a comment about your experience with GRAD Aggies, development elsewhere on campus, or any questions you may have about the program.
--- Courtney Adams
Courtney Adams is a Masters student in the College Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
The program consists of four main areas that the program offers development in: Academic, Leadership and Communication, Instruction and Assessment, and Career. There are several departments across campus that come together to offer workshops and various activities for participants.
You can earn the Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Certificate as you proceed through the program. Check out the different levels and their requirements here: https://grad.tamu.edu/professional-development/grad-aggies
I am working on earning the Basic Certificate which requires that I attend six GRAD Aggies events and answer reflection questions about each. After I have attended six events, I then must complete a final reflection in order to earn my certificate. Sounds easy enough, right? Then of course, as I mentioned, you can move on to earn the higher-level certificates.
When I first began the program, I was hesitant. How much development could I really gain from six events? But hey, this isn’t a huge time commitment, so I decided to try it out.
I attended a workshop titled “Grad Student Career Fair Preparation” earlier this semester. I am a first semester graduate student; I am not looking for a job quite yet, but I thought that it could come in handy a couple semesters from now. I walked in with an open mind to absorb as much as I could and make it apply to my career path. Little did I know, everything that I would learn at this workshop would be perfectly applicable to a conference that I would attend the following month.
I reviewed how to dress appropriately. I learned to research organizations in advance. I gained knowledge to prepare an “elevator speech”; although I wasn’t interviewing for any jobs at the conference, the quick one-minute speech about myself came in handy in many quick interactions with people. The list goes on and on about what I learned at this workshop; it surprised me how quickly I could put what I learned into action. I was already developing professionally.
I attended another event titled “Grant Writing” which was coordinated by the University Writing Center. I am in a field that has a lot of writing, but I am not necessarily going to be writing any grants for research anytime soon. I was unsure how I could make this session applicable. I wasn’t far into the session before I realized all the things they were teaching about writing grants, I could use to edit grants. I learned what components a grant must have, what grants are often rejected for, and what goes into constructing one.
Flash forward about a month and I was learning about editing grants in my science editing course. Boom. I already was very familiar with the content! (Thanks University Writing Center!)
I have also attended the event called “Grad Student CV, Biosketch, & Cover Letters.” I had to write a cover letter and send my résumé for a fellowship application, so that is why I chose to attend that event. It helped tremendously; I received the fellowship!
Lastly, I attended an event titled “Grad Student LinkedIn and Branding.” I have been constantly updating my LinkedIn and using it to research potential career paths. I am using different online skills that I learned from the event to network. So much development!
I need to attend two more events to earn my certificate and these are the events I am interested in attending to end the semester:
“Grad Student Big Help with Small Talk”
“SCS & GRAD Aggies present: Creating a Life of Balance & Wellness”
“Grad Student Academic Job Search and Networking”
Or having a one-on-one advising appointment with the Money Education Center
The best part of the program, for me, has been the ability to tailor it to meet my personal needs. As you can see, there are a lot of events offered by various departments across campus. The events I mention in this post don’t even scrape the surface of what is offered. I tended to lean towards events coordinated by the Career Center and Writing Center, but if these events don’t seem interesting to you, don’t worry...that’s the beauty of the program! Other departments that are involved in G.R.A.D Aggies include Center for Teaching Excellence, University Libraries, International Student Services, and still so many more!
All the events are valuable for one’s development, but I knew that there were some that would be more beneficial than others for me personally. The ability to pick and choose the events I can attend has made the program enjoyable and worthwhile. I don’t have to sit through workshops that are not applicable to my career nor do I have to attend things that I could find boring. I get to go to events I am excited about and know I can learn a lot from. I look forward to receiving my Basic Certificate later this semester!
I encourage all graduate students to consider participating in GRAD Aggies. I am so glad I did not let my hesitancy stop me; the program has been so valuable for my professional development!
What’s next?
I hope to go on to earn my Intermediate Certificate. I am also super interested in partaking in Academy for Future Faculty (AFF).
How are you professionally developing? Please leave a comment about your experience with GRAD Aggies, development elsewhere on campus, or any questions you may have about the program.
--- Courtney Adams
Courtney Adams is a Masters student in the College Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences