University at Buffalo (UB)
With the generous support of NeMLA, the Graduate Student Caucus is able to provide the below privileges for graduate students. Please visit our website for further information about events and opportunities.
The Graduate Student Caucus organizes the following events and activities at NeMLA's annual convention.
Details about these events and opportunities, including specific descriptions and scheduling information, are published on the convention pages as they become available.
The Graduate Student Caucus provides a number of travel awards to graduate students. The awards are open to any graduate student (including international students) who has been accepted to present or chair a session at the Annual Convention.
Evaluation is based on the quality of the student’s abstract, the quality of the accompanying statement, and the relevance of their topic in their respective fields. The argument should be well-articulated and understandable to someone outside the field.
GSC Travel Awardees may only receive one travel award, and may not be the recipient of any other travel award for the same conference.
Applicants must submit, in the body of an email to gsc@nemla.org, the following:
Applications not following the guidelines will not be considered. Decisions by the Travel Awards Committee are final.
Please send abstracts and statements to gsc@nemla.org between October 31 and November 30. Applicants can expect to hear about the decisions from the GSC Travel Award Committee during the first week of January 2023. Awards range from $110 to $400 depending on the number and strength of applications.
Checks will only be available in paper format and released directly to Travel Awardees at the NeMLA conference. Travel Awardees are responsible for confirming that their bank will accept a paper check from NeMLA (i.e., awards cannot be sent as a wire transfer, bank fees are the responsibility of the award recipient).
Travel Awardees must pick up their award checks at the NeMLA convention for the year they receive it at the GSC Business Meeting (typically held on Thursday evening). If Travel Awardees cannot be in attendance at the Business Meeting, GSC officers will share the window of time when awards may be claimed at the GSC table in the Exhibit Hall during the conference. Please note that the GSC is unable to mail out unclaimed travel awards to their recipients.
NeMLA awards an annual prize to the best graduate student paper presented at any of the previous three convention’s sessions. The Essay Award is open to any participant who was a graduate student when they presented.
Email submissions as two separate Microsoft Word document files to gsc@nemla.org by January 15 with:
Officers include the following:
President
The President oversees the caucus and is elected triennially. The President serves on the NeMLA board, and as such is the liaison between the graduate student constituency and NeMLA. The President attends both fall and spring board meetings (the fall board meeting is a virtual meeting using conferencing software). Other responsibilities include chairing the Travel Award and Essay Award committee, organizing the Meet and Greet and chairing the business meeting at the NeMLA convention, and assisting other committee members in GSC operations. The President might also propose and chair a GSC session at the yearly convention.
Vice President
This is a two-year position. The Vice President assists the President with caucus affairs. The Vice President is responsible for administrating the Travel Awards and Essay Award, holding GSC elections, and conducting the GSC post-convention survey. The Vice President will also propose and chair a GSC session at the yearly convention.
Communications Director
This is a two-year position involving both internal communications and external communications. The Communications Director manages the GSC web presence and facilitates collaboration with graduate students at host-city institutions. In addition, the Communication Director compiles a list of “Grad-Friendly Food” options near the convention and assists in Travel Award evaluations and Essay Award evaluations. The Communications Director might also propose and chair a GSC session at the yearly convention.
President
Samadrita Kuiti
University of Connecticut
samadrita.kuiti@uconn.edu
Vice President
Mridula Sharma
University of Glasgow
mridula2076@gmail.com
Communications Director
Priya Kumari
Jawaharlal Nehru University
priyakumari.oct@gmail.com