Graduate students from throughout the state recently had the opportunity to meet members of the N.C. General Assembly and share the ways graduate student research is benefiting North Carolina’s economy and citizens.
Governor Pat McCrory declared May 18 through 22 as Graduate Education Week in North Carolina and May 19 as Graduate Education Day. Thirty-four graduate students from 15 universities presented posters of their research at the State Capitol and met individually with members of the General Assembly on May 19.
“Graduate students are creating knowledge and technologies to address both challenges and opportunities within our state,” said Steve Matson, dean of The Graduate School at UNC-Chapel Hill. “We’re grateful that legislators took their valuable time to meet with students about their research and to share their perspectives. This was a very valuable experience for the students.”
Three UNC-Chapel Hill graduate students participated in the event, which was coordinated through the N.C. Council of Graduate Schools: Pooja Jani, a UNC preventive medicine resident and master’s degree student within public health leadership; Anna McGeehan, a master’s degree student in public administration; and Sara Turner, a doctoral student in chemistry.
Earlier this year, Jani, McGeehan and Turner received The Graduate School’s 2015 Graduate Education Advancement Board Impact Award for their discoveries of direct benefit to North Carolina.
