Graduate Student Advising and Organizing Committee

The Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education Graduate Student Advising and Organizing Committee was founded in the fall of 2019 under the direction of Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Curt Adams and spans the Norman and OU-Tulsa campuses. The committee strives to support graduate education, community and scholarship for social transformation in connection with the goals of the college’s Graduate Studies and Research Office.

The members of the GSAOC are dedicated to representing and responding to the needs of the College of Education’s graduate students through a variety of social and scholarly programming, often in connection and partnership with other groups, organizations and faculty within the College of Education and from the wider OU community.

“The GSAOC has provided a unique opportunity to work closely with graduate students from every department in our college and has allowed me to learn not only from their individual areas of research but also from their lived experiences and their creativity,” said Stephanie Heinrich, doctoral candidate in Education Studies. “It’s provided a space to bring my own knowledge and experiences to the table to collaborate closely with my peers in order to create lasting graduate student support that will benefit not only ourselves now, but also other students in the future.”

The first major event for the committee was the Diversity Scholarship Symposium held in February. With the campus closure due to COVID-19 in the spring 2020 semester, the GSAOC launched a virtual “Let’s Talk About” series that provided opportunities for graduate students and faculty to discuss common concerns in the academic profession, such as publishing, the dissertation process and the thesis process, and the institutional review board and research.

In an effort to maintain community and connection during the campus closure, the GSAOC held weekly virtual “Afternoon Chats” and “Social Bridging” opportunities and launched a Canvas page available to all JRCoE graduate students in an effort to ensure communication of events, campus news and resources.

“As an older, non-traditional student, I have often felt isolated from the rest of the college, especially now that I am in dissertation hours, working off-campus and living in Oklahoma City,” said Kim Smith, doctoral student in Adult and Higher Education. “The fortunate outcome of quarantine is that it opened a portal using technology that benefits more graduate students through Zoom discussions. I feel more connected now than I have over the past two years. “

Future plans include the continuation of “Afternoon Chats” and “Social Bridging” throughout the summer, as well as “The Dissertation Journey,” where students will work collectively and support each other during the dissertation process. The GSAOC will hold a graduate student orientation prior to the start of the fall 2020 semester and continue the “Let’s Talk About” series this fall.

“Isolation and feeling lost are all too common for graduate students,” said Annie Wildes, Science Education doctoral student. “Being involved with GSAOC has provided me with support from colleagues who understand what it means to be a graduate student.  Not only do I receive support, but I am also using my talents to support others. I believe the GSAOC has strengthened our graduate community."

The GSAOC is always accepting new members, graduate students who are dedicated to investing their time, experiences and knowledge toward furthering their own and their peers’ personal and scholarly growth.  Those interested in becoming involved can contact Stefanie R. Heinrich at stefanie.r.heinrich-1@ou.edu for more information.