Co-Presidents ready to put their stamp on reinvigorated Graduate Student Organization

By Chuck Carlson

Brianna Finn and Sera Sermet saw what a refocused and reinvigorated Graduate Student Organization (GSO) could look like last year as they served as co-vice presidents under President Nat Yawson.

As co-presidents this year, they want to take that vision just a little bit further.

"The overarching goal is just to increase excitement and participation," Finn said. "Last year was a great way to introduce this idea. But with the sequel, we're really excited to get more of the word out and rally more people to events."

"We want to work with everybody's strengths to put events together," Sermet said. "We can all contribute based on everybody else's own experience."

The GSO, first started in the Pharmacology and Toxicology Department in 2012, initially focused on philanthropy, raising funds to support different organizations and helping improve the science equipment for the Lansing Public School District.

Over the years, the GSO has evolved and now provides Ph.D. students the opportunity to gain access to a supportive research community that understands the unique challenges of doctoral work — from navigating advisor relationships to managing research setbacks. The GSO also provides opportunities for student growth through workshops and networking events that complement departmental training and provide members with practical leadership skills.

The GSO is a labor of love for Sermet and Finn, two fifth-year doctoral students doing their research together in the lab of Dr. Norbert Kaminski. They plan to expand an organization niche while juggling their full-time work and preparing for their dissertation defenses.

Indeed, both also share similar areas of study in immunotoxicology, with dissertations planned on the impact of cannabis on diseases.

Finn's dissertation focuses mainly on the effects of cannabis use on systemic inflammation in the context of HIV-infection. Sermet's research is assessing how the THC and CBD in marijuana modulate the neuroinflammatory interactions between white blood cells and cells in the central nervous system.

Both feel that the challenge of balancing their research with their leadership of the GSO is part of the fun.

"That's why we're excited to accept the co-presidency," Finn said. "It keeps us grounded throughout the end of this academic process."

They also know each other well and believe that working together and using their experience from last year will help move the GSO forward.

Plans are still evolving regarding what the GSO will offer for the next year, but both presidents said the centerpiece will again be PhmTox Week. The first PhmTox Week took place last September. It featured events that included a tour of Dow Chemical, a "Lab Olympics," an outreach program for high school students, and a tailgate gathering before the MSU-Ohio State football game.

Those are on the docket again, but plans are also evolving in new directions.

"I think that week in the fall is so vital as a start to our school year," Finn said. "I think one of the goals Sera and I have is to carry more of that energy from that week to the rest of the year. Maybe events once a month after work or at lunchtime and then carry the energy from that week to the rest of the academic year is really important to us."

"Lab work can get so consuming," Sermet said. "We all go through thinking that our work is our life, and it's important to reiterate to people that our mental health is important. Having these events on the side is a great way to remind everybody that, 'Look, we are more than what we're producing in the lab.'”

And that may be the most vital part of the GSO. It provides a safe space for PhD students to develop friendships that will sustain them through the often frustrating and always challenging doctoral studies.

It's an opportunity both Finn and Sermet embrace, but they’ve also made it clear that the decisions they make for the organization will not be theirs alone.

“It’s definitely a collaboration,” Sermet said. “We’re here to lead the conversation.”

It also helps that the majority of the new GSO executive board were also members last year.

The board consists of Vice President Adriana Ponton-Almodovar; Treasurer Derek Bowman; Secretaries Nana Kwame Kwabi Boateng and Emma Wabel; Outreach chair Kamila Sadko; Networking chairs Tessa Jordan and Samantha Musso; and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion chair Anthony Schulte. All but Schulte held roles in the GSO last year.

It remains a work in progress, but the co-presidents insist everyone will have a say in what happens with the organization.

“This is starting a conversation with everybody,” Finn said. “That’s how Nat was as president. It was the whole board running it. It wasn’t one person and that’s what we hope it will be this year. Whoever has an idea, we sit in a circle and try to figure out how it comes to fruition.”

For Finn and Sermet, the GSO will provide another layer of collaboration to their relationship, which is now in its fifth year.

“It’s been nice sharing the role, and we were able to split up the work among ourselves in a nice way,” Sermet said. “I felt it was really helpful last year. We’ll be good partners.”

Asked if the continuing working relationship would eventually get on each other’s nerves, they laughed at the same time and said simply, “That would have happened already.”

Ultimately, Sermet and Finn hope to bring a fresh and dynamic student experience and, just maybe, take the GSO to places no one really imagined. “Last year was really when we made a statement that we exist and we’re here to stay,” Finn said. “And everybody has a place.”