Who We Are

ELECTIONS

Congratulations to our incoming executive board for 2024-2025

  • President: Joelle Lingat (SP2)

  • Executive Vice President: Stephen Lee (SEAS)

  • Vice President for Finance: Nakisha Jones (SAS)

  • Vice President for Operations: Mohammed (Mo) Soumaoro (SP2)

  • Vice President for Programming: Adam Ziada (PSOM)

  • Vice President for Advocacy: Mayowa Fageyinbo (SP2 / PSOM)

  • Speaker: Bruce Zou (GSE)

Learn more about the roles and responsibilities here or contact existing exec members here to know more.

Director, Deputy and Committee applications open below

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Director, Deputy and Committee applications open below 〰️

Note: All executive board positions (E9, Directors & Deputy Directors) come with an academic and research stipend, termed as the GAPSA Service Award, for a maximum of $3000 in an academic year. ***Uncodified roles and committee members do not count towards this.***

We encourage applicants to submit their applications by Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

Available positions include

Advocacy Division

Director of Equity and Access

Director of International Student Affairs

Director of Student Wellness

Director of External Affairs

Deputy Director of Advocacy (Uncodified role)

Operations Division

Director of Logistics

Director of Public Relations

Director of Alumni Relations

Director of Data Analytics

Deputy Director of Technology

Deputy Director of Records

Deputy Director of Credentials

Deputy Director for Trainings & Onboarding (Uncodified role)

Deputy Director of Alumni Relations (Uncodified role)

Programming Division

Director of Cultural Programming

Director of Academic Programming

Director of Social Programming

Deputy Director of Academic Programming (Uncodified role)

Deputy Director of Cultural Programming (Uncodified role)

Deputy Director of Social Programming (Uncodified role)

Deputy Director of Finances Programming (Uncodified role)

Deputy Director of Programming Administration (Uncodified role)

Deputy Director of Marketing for Programming (Uncodified role)

Deputy Director of Programming Outreach (Uncodified role)

Programming Committee Member

Finance Division

Director of Budget

Director of Fund Management

Director of Financial Reporting

DIRECTOR, DEPUTY & COMMITTEE APPLICATIONS

Order of Election

Elections are held in the following order, notwithstanding elections that are delayed for any reason.

  • President

  • Executive Vice President

  • VP of Finance,

  • VP of Operations

  • VP of Programming

  • VP of Advocacy

  • Speaker

Election Procedures

  • Announcement of Nominations already received

  • Final Call for Nominations (made 3 times)

  • Closure of Nominations

  • Candidate Speeches

  • Q&A

  • [Likely point meeting will be closed and candidates asked to leave/wait outside]

  • Deliberations

  • Voting – In Person Only

    • If Tie: Return to Deliberations

    • If Abstentions are Majority: Election Moved to Following Meeting. Additional candidates may enter the field

    • If there is a Winner: Winner and total ballots  announced

Instructions for Candidates

Accommodations

Please contact the Director of Logistics mail or Elections Chair mail regarding any accommodations needed.

Timing

Candidate Speeches

Three (3) Minutes

Questions

Single-Candidate Elections: Five (5) Minutes for General Assembly questions. Five (5) Minutes for all GAPSA questions.

Multi-Candidate Elections: Fifteen (15) Minutes for General Assembly questions. Fifteen (15) Minutes for all GAPSA questions.

Answers

One (1) Minute

For multi-candidate elections, the first candidate to answer the question has an additional thirty (30) second rebuttal at the end.

The Chair or timekeeper will indicate remaining time by hand or other simple signal(s) requested by Candidate.

When a candidate reaches time, the Chair or timekeeper will state “Time”.

Candidates have a five (5) second grace after time is called to conclude before being interrupted by gavel or other method.

Passing, Reserving Time

Candidates are not required to give a speech, answer questions, or use all allotted time. Candidates do not lose their right to speak on a later question because they passed on an earlier one. Candidates may answer all questions unless it relates to the eligibility of a specific candidate.

However, candidates may not “reserve” time. If a candidate passes on a speech, they may not give their speech later. If they pass on a question, they cede all time they would have had to answer it, including rebuttal if they would have been the first to answer.

Speaking Order

Candidates will give speeches in alphabetical order by last name. Candidates will have the opportunity to respond to questions in the same order, with the first to speak rotating each question. The first candidate to answer the question will have a rebuttal after the last candidate has the opportunity to answer.

 

2023 - 2024 EXECUTIVE BOARD TAKEOVER

President mail

  • A: It's exciting! The fun part of the role is also the hard part, addressing the challenges that students face on a daily basis and making their lives better. It requires a lot of face time and communication, but it's all very rewarding.

  • A: Getting to know students from every school and working to understand their experiences.

    GAPSA represents 17,000+ lived experiences, and Penn students never cease to amaze and inspire

  • A: I'm working with our Advocacy team and Operations team to put together a Philadelphia-area student governments summit and a graduate student leadership workshop, respectively, for this Spring semester. I hope to see them come to fruition!

  • A: For me, communication skills have been key. I genuinely love getting to know other people, and being interested in others is essential for this role. After all, it's a service role at its core

  • A: The time commitment varies, but it's definitely my biggest involvement on campus.

    Depending on the week, I might spend 15-25 hours on GAPSA meetings, work, and brainstorming each week.

    But, sustainability is key, so I always prioritize my wellbeing and academics.

Executive Vice President mail

  • It’s incredibly rewarding and a great pleasure to be involved at Penn. It has its ups and downs but mostly making sure that we are able to help other graduate students succeed and have a positive experience makes it worth it.

  • Being able to see first hand what other graduate students are working on via application reviews and seeing how GAPSA can help make new initiatives possible.

  • 100% increasing the reach of the “good food bags” initiative to combat food insecurity.

  • Being responsive. Even if I don’t have an answer I can most likely direct you to the person that will.

    Recognizing something’s wrong and being able to do something about it. This is a constant for me at PDM and is invaluable when working with other students.

  • It fluctuates, but roughly 20 hours or so depending on the week. Getting those few hours to respond to emails is a must.

Vice President of Finance mail

  • There are typically a range of activities each day, where one day is not necessarily like another. Finance is one of the largest divisions with a robust workload that requires different involvement from the position.

  • My favorite part is supporting other graduate students to make their dreams and ideas come to reality. Whether it is attending a conference, putting on an event, or building community on and off campus.

  • Most of my projects are around individual grants, student group funding, budget preparation, compliance, trainings, and financial management.

  • The skills that have helped me in my role are not actually financial, it's more about having positive relationships with others. Finance is a very demanding position, and having people around you that are supportive is highly important.

  • The average day can take 2-4 hours of GAPSA time, so over the week that can be 15-20 hours. On peak times it will easily consume 40 hours a week. The best way to manage the workload is to have a strong team in Finance supporting the different roles, and an open line of communication to the graduate student population.

Vice President of Operations mail

  • A day in the life of GAPSA is a lot of fun; it's like working with family - in every aspect. Every day, I contribute to the overall mission of GAPSA, which is making sure our internal work is complete. This includes everything from helping GAPSA reps better understand how to be the most effective, refining processes, and ordering the best foods to serve the GA. Also, I have the chance to meet new alumni at alumni events, adding another layer of excitement and connection to my experience with GAPSA. My day is never dull in GAPSA.

  • My favorite aspect is tending to the details. The love lies in those intricate details. Operations primarily caters to GAPSA's internal needs, and I enjoy streamlining processes to simplify the lives of our GAPSA representatives and executive board members.

  • This year, my team has spearheaded the development of a new, efficient website, expanding the alumni relations team, enhancing the GA check-in system, organizing additional social events for students, and implementing heightened security measures for our gatherings.

  • The skills that have been crucial for me include humility, as my role involves working behind the scenes. Communication is essential as I regularly liaise with my team to coordinate weekly tasks. Flexibility is also key, as changes can arise, requiring adaptability and a willingness to collaborate. Lastly, being a team player is fundamental for the synergy within the group. GAPSA is a family.

  • I spend about 15-20 hours a week on GAPSA related things.

Vice President of Programming mail

  • A typical day involves planning and organizing the events for the month. I coordinate with my amazing team of directors to ensure that everything is on track and help out with any potential issues. I also set up and manage the Eventbrite for ticket sales. I meet with other Penn-affiliated groups to discuss opportunities for collaboration to plan fun events!

  • My favorite part of the role is attending the events that I organized! I can see how much people enjoy the event, which makes all the hard work worth it. I also look forward to getting feedback- what are things people liked, how we can make our events better, and what events they would like to see in the future!

  • This year we really tried to have an inclusive programming calendar-putting on a mix of free and paid events, as well as establishing an equal balance of social, cultural, and academic events. One highlight from this year was GradFest. It was the first big GAPSA event of the year and I had a lot fun planning this week filled with ~ 20 events.

  • I think the most important skills were organization and time-management. There are a lot of details that need to be planned in advance for an event to be successful. Working out the logistics in advance and maintaining constant communication with the Programming team helped me in my role.

  • I usually spend 15-20 hours a week on GAPSA, but this can go up to 30-40 hours when large events are planned like GradFest, Wellness Week, or the Spring Gala.

Vice President of Advocacy mail

  • A day in the life of GAPSA is a lot of thinking, researching, strategizing, meeting, listening and reflecting!

  • My favorite part is meeting people that all want the same thing - help make Penn a better place for everyone.

  • My team has been working on having more day care facilities here at Penn.

    Wouldn't it be amazing if we supported parents while they continued with their education?

  • Having worked in the development sector for almost a decade, I've had the opportunity to learn about unique programs, initiatives and ways to converge resources for a common goal.

  • I spend about 15-20 hours a week on GAPSA related tasks.

Speaker mail

  • In the leadup to meetings, I'm looking over bills, rereading rules, and responding to people's questions. Besides facilitating meetings, a lot of my work is helping members understand how to move towards their goals while following the rules.

  • My favorite part of being Speaker is the social aspect! I've met so many wonderful, thoughtful, passionate people in GAPSA. So much of my work is front-facing, so I really get to engage with everyone and learn how they think through problems.

  • I've gotten to work through some complicated procedural questions that required me to delve into the parts of GAPSA that happen outside of meetings. Learning from others and coming to rulings that are correct and uncontroversial is really engaging!

  • A baseline level of procedural knowledge and comfort with public speaking is necessary. It's also important to care about process and everyone having a chance to make their voice heard.

  • About 8-12 hours average, more on GA meetings weeks and less on off-weeks. Much more during elections season.