Honors College: Graduate Student Speaker Panel

The Honors College club and Honors STEMISTS teamed up to host a graduate student speaker panel. At this event, GCU students who had either been accepted into graduate school or were currently attending graduate school, spoke on their experiences. There were seven different students who represented a variety of graduate schools and programs. The following individuals and their represented universities and fields of studies included:

• • Elania Groby– Physical Therapy at Midwestern University
  • Yuri Bonilla–  Biomedical Information at Arizona State University
  • Victor De Dios– Pharmacy at Midwestern University
  • Dominique Devereux– Pharmacy at Midwestern University
  • Annie Gerlicher– Physician Assistant at Midwestern University
  • Alena Gladwin– MD/ PhD at Loma Linda
  • Bianca Boling– Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Midwestern University

These individuals spoke on the application, admissions and interview processes, as well as offered a variety of tips on how to stand out as a strong candidate when applying to graduate schools. They shared advice and guidance regarding all that goes into a strong application and how to present yourself properly. They even disclosed some of the key differences between graduate and undergraduate classes. In addition, the speakers offered general life advice including graduate school tips and trick and how to one day be a professional for the field that undergrad students anticipate on entering.

One distinct take away from the panel was that students should only apply to graduate once they feel ready and well prepared. The speakers also encouraged the undergraduate students to keep up a strong GPA and continue personal growth and development. Graduate schools often look for well rounded, strong, mature, intelligent individuals who are able to stick to a strong moral and ethical code.

The event was timely, providing undergraduate students with this crucial information and advice in plenty of time to start planning and preparing for their future applications. The idea of the panel was to inform undergraduate students and help them become aware of the key requirements for a grad school application so that they can aim to meet those requirements. For instance, a Physician’s Assistant grad application requires over 200 hours of experience, which can be hard to complete if a student learns about it in their junior or senior year of college.

This panel event was an exclusive opportunity for GCU students to engage with successful graduate students and receive their help and advice, which could serve as a competitive advantage over other candidates and students. Overall, the event was a major success! Students that attended were excited and interactive, asked interesting questions and stayed almost an hour after the event end time to continue conversations. They utilized their networking skills, and some even exchanged contact information to keep in touch with the graduate student speakers! The hope and intention of the event as a whole was to encourage first and second year students to be prepared and easily achieve all that is required of them throughout their academic career.

Grand Canyon University’s Honors College provides motivated and ambitious students with the tools they need to succeed at GCU and post-graduation. Learn more by visiting our website or contacting us using the Request More Information button.