Building Communities through the Creation of Dialogues

Final Paper pdf 555KB

At the Office of Student Transition and Retention (STAR), engineering graduate students with an affinity for student affairs and program development are supported and fostered to be key stakeholders. Through conversations with college administration and staff, programs have been developed and implemented by graduate students throughout the years to meet student needs. With growing student populations in engineering, engaging student leaders in addressing existing gaps in programming is paramount to student success. The Women in Engineering Luncheon and the Engineering Undergraduate Research Panel were specifically designed by graduate students to support underrepresented populations. These programs represent how student affairs can nurture engineering graduate students’ inherent problem solving skills to support building community, one of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering’s strategic goals. This paper focuses on leveraging graduate student perspectives to enhance efforts towards inclusion and broadening participation in engineering.

Author(s):

Jeremy Waisome    
Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering
University of Florida
United States

Juan Gilbert    
Computer & Information Science & Engineering Department
University of Florida
United States

Stephen Roberts    
Undergraduate Student Affairs
University of Florida
United States

Darryl McCune    
Undergraduate Student Affairs
University of Florida
United States

Curtis Taylor    
Undergraduate Student Affairs
University of Florida
United States