2018 in Review: Chemistry Graduate Student Committee
The CGSC represents the graduate students in Chemistry at MIT and strives to bring students and postdocs together outside of the laboratory environment.
The Chemistry Graduate Student Committee (CGSC) is a student organization that strives to improve graduate student quality of life. The group fosters a sense of community through departmental social events, forums, and intramural sports teams. They host an annual career panel series, where alumni return to campus and share insights from their careers in fields including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, materials, consulting, law, science policy, academia and others. Lastly, they advocate on behalf of graduate students in regular meetings with the Department Head and Associate Head(s), faculty, Chemistry Department administration and institute representatives.
Community Building Events
In the 2018, CGSC organized a number of events intended to foster a sense of inclusion within the community. This past year, CGSC sponsored intramural indoor and outdoor soccer, flag football, billiards, and volleyball teams. The departmental Summer Volleyball League has continued to be a popular departmental event, with participation from a record 15 teams. The MOFia (Dinca Group) kept it strictly business until the finals, but Tide Pods (Pentelute Group) proved too tough a pill to swallow. Congrats to the 2018 champions, Tide Pods!
CGSC has continued to sponsor many on-campus events for socialization in the department. They held monthly TGIF events, where attendees could enjoy food and refreshments in the comfort of the Moore Room after a week of work. Monthly Coffee Hours have allowed for a brief pause in the workday to rest and re-energize among coworkers. CGSC hosted their annual boat cruise, Pier Review, as well as an annual end of summer BBQ. This spring CGSC hosted a mixer event with the AeroAstro department, where attendees enjoyed a cookout along with sailing on the Charles River. CGSC assisted in Visiting Weekend for prospective graduate students and organized an event at Flat Top Johnny’s. Other off-campus outings from the past year included Karaoke at Wild Rover, a “Pool Party” at Flat Top Johnny’s, and a summer outing to Revere Beach.
Quality of Life
As part of the Department of Chemistry’s continuing effort to enhance the Quality of Life of its members, the Chemistry Graduate Student Committee collaborated with Women in Chemistry, ChemREFS, and CADI to present an annual update to the Department of Chemistry Visiting Committee in the fall.
Academic and Professional Development
During IAP, CGSC hosted their annual Career Panel Series, wherein dozens of alumni convened to discuss their respective career journeys with current students and postdocs. They also advised first year graduate students on group selection, and, along with ChemREFS, organized informational panels for all stages of qualifying exams.
