Q&A with Graduate Student Association President Dalis Lampkins

Dalis Lampkins is a doctoral candidate entering her fifth year at the Capstone. She is currently studying American politics, public policy and administration, and international relations. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in political science. Lampkins is also a graduate teaching assistant in the political science department where she teaches Introduction to American Politics.

What were some of GSA’s highlights this past academic year?

We strengthened our role in supporting graduate students by hosting a series of events and programs that met the expanding needs of graduate students and increased our cross-campus collaborations with university entities through Town Halls and International and Departmental Coffee Hours.

My favorite event was our inaugural Graduate Student Association Formal in the spring semester, a fun event that brought students across disciplines together to celebrate all we had accomplished last year. We continued advocating for our fellow students through service on university standing committees, legislation in our House of Delegates and our involvement with the SEC Coalition of Graduate Student Associations.

The year ended with us being recognized as the Most Outstanding Graduate Student Organization during the Exemplo Capstone Awards.

What are some of the GSA’s goals and major projects for the 2023-2024 academic year?

The GSA is going to open a graduate student space in Capital Hall. We will have a meeting space for student organizations to utilize as well as an open-seating space for graduate students to come and hang out with each other.

We will continue to place emphasis on ensuring that all graduate students feel welcome on campus and at our events by continuing to be creative in our programming and seek out new and diverse collaborators for our town halls, coffee hours and even new event opportunities. We additionally want to continue to make graduate students aware of programming and policies regarding GSA, whether the information stems from our executive branch, House of Delegates or our social media.

How can students get involved with the GSA?

Throughout the year, we host a series of town halls, allowing members of the GSA’s Executive Council and House of Delegates the opportunity to speak directly to their governing body and other university departments. Additionally, all GSA events are open to all graduate students, as every graduate student is considered a member of the Graduate Student Association.

To stay updated and involved with GSA’s events, programming and initiatives, I encourage students to follow us on our website, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, or contact us at gsa@ua.edu.

What was the biggest lesson the GSA learned from the past year that will continue to make an impact on the association?

We consistently hear graduate students express how much they seek out a liaison between the students and their department and the Graduate School and University administration. Given this insight, we are placing particular emphasis on the work our executive council and our House of Delegates do to act as advocates for and disseminators of information to our graduate and professional student body.

Graduate students are what make The University of Alabama the R1 institution that it is. We contribute greatly to the emphasis the Capstone places on teaching, research and service. As the Graduate Student Association, we owe it to all graduate students to listen to them and act on their behalf. And if we have fun with them in our programming while doing it, even better!