GMS Hosts 5 Days of Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week Events
Graduate Medical Sciences Student Affairs, GMS Professional Development and the Community Catalyst Center celebrated the accomplishments of our students during Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week from April 7 to 11.
Throughout the week, we hosted a variety of events that brought students together for community building, social interaction, academic enrichment, wellness, and professional development. Read the full recap below!
Monday, April 7:
Succulents, Snacks & Student Wellbeing
Student Affairs, Professional Development, C3 and Student Wellbeing teamed up for the first event of GPSAW, which invited students to relax, paint a terracotta pot, and bring home a new succulent.
Around 40 students from across GMS programs attended the 90-minute wellness session.
Snacks and beverages were provided, and the Alumni Medical Library visited the event with their new “Little Free Library” resource. Students were invited to select a new book to take home from the cart.
Tuesday, April 8:
Grab & Go Cookies
GMS Student Affairs partnered with the Chobanian & Avedisian SOM Student Affairs and School of Public Health Graduate Student Life for a grab-and-go cookie event in the L-Building Lobby.
Students from all three schools could stop by the table to pick up a free Chequers cookie at any time from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9:
Free Professional Headshots
C3 and the Graduate Medical Sciences Student Organization (GMSSO) teamed up to offer free, professional headshots to students in GMS.
Throughout the day, BUMC Multimedia Specialist Jacob Mackey took new headshots of students to help them freshen up their professional profiles. Around 30 students signed up to take their headshot.
Lunch with Associate Provost and Dean of GMS Dr. Jamie McKnight
Dr. Jamie McKnight hosted an hour-long lunch for graduate and professional students at GMS.
Attending students enjoyed sandwiches and beverages and had the chance to socialize and chat with Dr. McKnight over lunch.
Thursday, April 10:
Graduate Medical Sciences Inaugural Research Symposium
Graduate Medical Sciences hosted its Inaugural Research Symposium in Hiebert Lounge from noon to 3 p.m.
The event featured oral presentations from awardees in the early-career PhD and MD/PhD, PhD and MD/PhD and postdoctoral categories. Following oral presentations, students presented posters throughout the Lounge for the remainder of the event.
Judges assessed posters throughout the session, and awards were given to students at the end of the day.
A full event recap of the Research Symposium will be posted separately at a later date.
Friday, April 11:
C3 Swag & a Snack
From noon to 2 p.m., students stopped by L-311 to select brand-new swag from an array of C3 baseball caps, t-shirts, stickers, tote bags, stress “brains,” pens and more.
Besides the swag, C3 provided an array of snack items to all students who attended.
Outdoor Fun Raffle
GMS Student Affairs hosted a raffle of two Red Sox tickets to close out GPSAW 2025!
As usual, this raffle was popular, with students from a variety of GMS programs coming to L-311 for a chance to win the tickets.
Congratulations to our raffle winners: Talana Banks and Yuhui Song!
PhD Alumni & Student Mix and Mingle
GMS Professional Development hosted a PhD Alumni & Student Mix & Mingle on April 11. The event was co-sponsored by BU Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BU’s BEST), the Biomedical PhD Student Organization (BPSO), and Dr. Erika Ebbel Angle and Colin Angle.
The event connected current PhD students with around 20 alumni who graduated from across all GMS PhD programs and now work in over 10 different career areas. Students had the chance to hear several inspiring alumni career talks before mingling at specific roundtables organized by career area. Following the roundtables, students and alumni continued to network over beverages and food.
Thank you for joining us for another Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week!
Check out the GMS Calendar to see even more events happening on our campus and beyond through the end of the semester.