Leadership & Service

Context/Challenge: Staff at KSU often felt their voices were underrepresented in university-wide decision-making.

What I Did:

• Advocated for professional development and transparency in staff governance.
• Collaborated with other senators to bring staff concerns to senior leadership.

Impact:

• Strengthened staff representation in key policy areas.
• Advanced initiatives to support workplace culture and professional growth.

Growth as a Leader: I learned how to influence change without direct authority, by building consensus and amplifying collective voices.

Context/Challenge: After my successful tenure as GSA President, I was invited back to serve as Advisor to help mentor the next generation of student leaders.

What I Did:

• Provided guidance on funding strategy, governance, and event planning.
• Helped new leaders navigate university politics and sustain the organization’s mission.

Impact:

• Ensured continuity of GSA’s impact on graduate student success.
• Strengthened institutional memory and leadership pipelines.

Growth as a Leader: I learned the difference between leading from the front and guiding from behind — and how mentorship can multiply impact.

Context/Challenge:Global forums often lacked actionable, data-driven contributions from emerging voices in analytics.

What I Did:

• Represented student and professional communities as a UNITAR SDG Ambassador.
• Designed data-driven sustainability projects such as LEBRO (Low Emission Bus Route Optimization).

Impact:

• Earned the Outreach/Impact Award (2020) for global contributions.
• Presented work at UN-affiliated conferences and global forums.

Growth as a Leader: I learned to frame data as a language of diplomacy and advocacy, translating complex analytics into solutions that serve communities worldwide.

Context/Challenge:At the start of my PhD, I noticed a gap: students were learning theory, but not gaining hands-on exposure to real-world data science problems.

What I Did:

• Founded the Analytics & Data Science Organization (ADSO) to bridge academia and industry.
• Organized workshops, industry talks, and hackathons to give students practical skills.
• Built partnerships with faculty, alumni, and local businesses to fund and sustain the organization.

Impact:

• ADSO quickly grew into a thriving professional community that continues beyond my leadership.
• Students gained access to internships, mentorship, and practical training opportunities.
• Positioned KSU as a hub for applied analytics education.

Growth as a Leader:I learned how to start an organization from scratch, leverage networks, and leave behind a sustainable structure that outlives my direct involvement.

Context/Challenge:When I became President, the GSA was struggling with low attendance (10–12 students per event), limited visibility, and scarce funding. Graduate students often felt disconnected from campus life, with little access to resources that could support research, travel, and career development.

What I Did:

• Conducted listening sessions with graduate students to understand their unmet needs.
• Built relationships with university staff and identified key allies in funding and policy.
• Rebranded events around professional growth (research publishing, startup workshops, job prep, financial literacy) and community building (graduation celebrations, family-inclusive gatherings).
• Balanced leadership by addressing conflicts within my board openly, ensuring alignment with GSA’s mission.

Impact:

• Increased funding by 45% within two years, the highest in GSA history.
• Boosted event participation to 100+ attendees on Friday evenings, a record-breaking turnaround.
• Enabled graduate students to secure conference travel funding and research opportunities, directly helping career advancement.

Growth as a Leader:This experience taught me how to navigate cultural differences in leadership, balance unpopular but necessary decisions, and build coalitions for change. I left the GSA stronger than I found it, and was later invited back to serve as Advisor — a full-circle recognition of my impact.

Context/Challenge:International students at KSU often felt isolated and had lower retention rates.

What I Did:

• Designed a mentorship program pairing incoming international students with peer leaders.
• Created structured onboarding sessions, cultural adaptation workshops, and ongoing mentorship.

Impact:

• Improved international student retention and engagement significantly.
• Built a welcoming culture where students felt supported both academically and socially.

Growth as a Leader:This initiative reinforced my belief that leadership starts with listening and inclusion.

Context/Challenge:Many underserved groups — refugees, LGBTQ+ youth, women in STEM — lack access to mentors and professional development.

What I Did:

• Mentored refugee youth through the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
• Guided women and non-binary students through BUILT BY GIRLS.
• Designed professional programming for LGBTQ+ homeless youth at Lost-n-Found Youth.
• Served on the StartOut Programming Board, supporting LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.

Impact:

• Helped marginalized groups gain confidence, skills, and opportunities.
• Expanded access to professional pathways often closed to underrepresented communities.

Growth as a Leader:I learned that mentorship is leadership at its most personal — empowering others to see possibilities they didn’t know existed.