Students Selected for UCF’s First Graduate Student Advisory Council

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 PhD

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 PhD

Jethro Raphael Suarez ’21, Biomedical Engineering MSBME, Biomechanics Track

College of Graduate Studies

Daryn Dever ’17 ’20MA, Modeling and Simulation PhD

College of Health Professions and Sciences

Coral Roorda, Physical Therapy DPT

College of Medicine

Alexandra Bunea, Biomedical Sciences MS, Integrated Medical Sciences Track

College of Nursing

Alexis Marano ’19, Nursing PhD

College of Sciences

Christopher Crowder, Integrative Conservation Biology PhD

Saad Mehmood, Physics PhD

College of Optics and Photonics

Bryan Turo, Optics and Photonics PhD

Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Matthew Romick ’21, Hospitality and Tourism Management MS