Testimonials from GSC Members
Are you interested in joining the AAAL Graduate Student Council? Read what some departing GSC members have to say about their experience and how they view the impact of the GSC on them personally and on the larger AAAL community.
Svetlana Koltovskaia (2021-2022 GSC Co-Chair)
Oklahoma State University
​Joining the AAAL GSC has been the best decision I made! In 2019, I became a member of the social media sub-committee and made my way all the way up to serve as a co-chair. The experience serving on the GSC has been great! I not only met and made friends with wonderful graduate students from all over the world but also got to know well-known researchers in our field. I believe that serving on the GSC is an invaluable leadership opportunity with a lot of benefits and opportunities for professional and personal development and growth.
Oksana Moroz (Social Media Member-at-Large)
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
AAAL GSC’s social media team working with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, blog, and website has had a great productive year. We managed to increase our digital presence, interviewed numerous amazing scholars, interacted with our audience, and listened to its needs. Overall, this year has proved to us that people need online community just as much as they need an offline one. Hence, we are always ready to help graduate students navigate their professional and personal endeavors, keep them up to date on the latest events in the applied linguistics world through our social media channels.
Xiao Tan (Diversity Member-at-Large)
Arizona State University
​Working with the excellent members of the Graduate Student Council has taught me so much! I joined the GSC in 2021 as the secretary and chair of the Diversity Subcommittee. What’s really valuable about this experience is to see from the inside how such a big organization works. I’ve developed communication and leadership skills. And being able to contribute to the field I love is rewarding! I will take this experience with me and strive to achieve more in the future.