As a grad student, Dana was very active looking out for the interests of all grad students. He served as the Vice President of Internal Affairs for the Graduate Student Association for multiple years. Since he graduated last spring, Dana has continued his committement to grad students. He continues to work on projects he begun as VP Internal, such as lobbying agains the misuse of student fees for the RIMAC Annex. Additionally, Dana serves as an advisor to the current GSA executive board and a source of institutional memory. I highly reccomend Dana for the Outstanding Graduate Student Support Alumni Award.

Manny is a dedicated member of the already amazing Sociology grad support staff. This year I have had the opportunity to work closely with Manny on increasing diversity within the department. He has been incredibly supportive of the entire process, constantly providing advice and resources. Because of Manny, we, the grad student know that we have a trusted advocate of diversity. Without his critical support, we wouldn't have been able to make such strides within our department on diversity matters. It is an honor to nominate Emmanuel de la Paz.

Dear committee, I would like to nominate Prof. Frank E. Talke for the Faculty Mentorship award. Prof. Talke is an outstanding teacher, researcher and mentor. His research focuses on the Tribology of hard disk drives, a hot topic for the past decades. He guides his graduate students in any way possible with thoughtful suggestions on their research, teaching and mentoring. With his strong connections to industry Prof. Talke he is connecting academia and science with the applied part that helps the students to succeed in industry. Besides the university Prof. Talke provides his students with a familiar environment by organizing social events for the whole group. He makes sure that the research of the group is well presented at distinguished conferences and industrial meetings. Prof. Talke is an outstanding mentor and I am pleased to nominate him for the award.

I would like to nominate Garo Bournoutian for an Outstanding Graduate Student award. For the last eight years, Garo has been integrally involved with campus leadership and has tirelessly strived to improve campus life at UCSD. While an undergraduate student at UCSD, he chaired the University Centers Expansion Task Force, which coordinated the survey and referendum process for the Price Center and Student Center Expansion Referendum. Furthermore, after successfully running the referendum, he became a member of the Building Advisory Committee (BAC) to ensure the plans and designs continue to mirror what students would want. He has been involved in this process starting in 2002, with the formation of the Task Force, and maintained involvement until the project’s completion this year. Furthermore, when the Expansion Referendum fee was incorrectly charged in Winter 2008, he looked out for students and requested a refund of the overcharge from the administration for all student. 

Another significant contribution he provided was as President of COAST (Chancellor’s Organization of Allied Students) in 2004-05. At that point in time, the organization was a part of Special Events and Protocols under External Relations, and they no longer wanted to support the program. He worked with the Vice Chancellor of External Relations to find a new home for COAST in the Alumni Association. With this move, COAST has flourished and its membership and campus and community impact has grown significantly. 

Additionally, Garo has been a member of the Registration Fee Advisory Committee since 2002-03, and is currently serving his third year as Chair of the Committee. Under his leadership, this board (which deals with the bulk of non-academic funds for student services) has been able to grapple with large issues and tight budgets. During his years on Reg Fee, he has worked hard to ensure student fees are used in the most efficient and beneficial manner.

He has been a Teaching Assistant for Compilers (CSE 131) for the last 6 quarters it has been taught, and received a TA Excellence Award from the Center for Teaching Development (CTD) for the 2006-07 year. He is active in his academic department (CSE), as the student representative to the faculty graduate committee. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honors society, and served as an officer (secretary and treasurer) for 2 years.

He has also been a member of numerous other committees to enhance student life. He was the President of the Graduate Student Association in 2006-07, and a member for multiple years on the Academic Senate Graduate Council, Planning & Budget Committee, and Distinguished Teaching Committee. He has also served on a number of search committees, including those for the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Life, Revelle Provost, and the Career Services Director.

Currently, he is an active member of the Alumni Association, and is actively involved with both the Graduate Student Association and Associated Student Council. He will no doubt continue to be involved and strive to improve UCSD campus life as best as he can.

I hereby nominate Gayle Aruta of the Communication Department for the Outstanding Graduate Support Staff Award. Since I began my Ph.D. in Fall 2000, I have felt that when I finish my degree, it will be because of Gayle. Returning to school after ten years of working was not easy for me, and it helped immeasurably to have someone to talk to about the transition. Moreover, I have gone through several life changes during my time in this program, including a divorce, the birth of a child, and the death of a parent. Gayle’s extraordinary efforts to help me stay in school through these changes have been just as valuable as my advisor’s support, if not more so. This is not a unique relationship between Gayle and me; she extends herself to each graduate student in the department with the same warmth, compassion, humor, encouragement, and genuine desire to help.

It is this combination of qualities that makes Gayle one of the most extraordinary people I have met at UCSD. I and many of my fellow graduate students feel that she holds the graduate program together, not only in helping individual students navigate the bureaucracy, but also in creating a sense of community within the department to the extent that we cannot imagine the program without her. Regardless of how much work she has, Gayle finds the time to help us individually and make sure that we stay on track. She also responds readily to our suggestions for resources that will facilitate our work, even if they make more work for her. For example, when I began applying for grants to conduct international fieldwork, there was no departmental file of successful grant applications. There is now; Gayle put the call out as soon as I asked and maintains a binder in her office. Numerous other resources for graduate students have also appeared under her watch. She even writes the proposal to fund our graduate enrichment series when we aren’t organized enough to do it ourselves. As Graduate Program Coordinator, she does much more than the administrative work. She acts as our tireless advocate regarding departmental and TA issues, and funding opportunities. She asks us for our opinions about policy and procedural changes, and presents our feedback to faculty at times when they haven’t consulted us themselves. In this way, she acts as a highly effective liaison between the graduate students and the faculty, as well as the Office of Graduate Studies and the university. Further, Gayle contributes significantly to the life of the department as a whole. Whatever displays of camaraderie occur have Gayle’s involvement if not instigation – be they birthday parties, baby showers, memorial services, or grad students’ open-mike nights. She has solved our problems, helped us move, given us rides, taken care of our cats while we were away – in short, provided us with the kind of care and support normally associated with family.

I would like to nominate Dr. Ian Everall for a Faculty Mentorship Award. I am a Ph.D. student in the UCSD/SDSU Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health. Prior to my application and enrollment in this program Ian strongly encouraged me to pursue further graduate training and since then he has proven to be an outstanding mentor. Ian is a Professor of Psychiatry, Director of the UCSD Outpatient Psychiatric Service and is one of the top researchers examining the causes and consequences of NeuroAIDS. However, despite these prestigious positions and their accompanying time demands, I am continually surprised by his commitment to mentoring young investigators. Whether it be looming grant deadlines, administrative red tape, or personal turmoil, Ian has been there for me and assisted in turning many of my mountains into mole hills. In addition, Ian has gone out of his way to shepherd me through the ins and outs of academic research. He has promoted my future career to others and has introduced me to key people to further assist in my navigation to my professional goals. Dr. Ian Everall is truly a rare individual and tremendous mentor to which I am forever in debt to. His mentoring style and ability are to be applauded.

Isaac is a brilliant teacher and he is very attuned to graduate student concerns. He teaches a research practicum class in which he teaches us graduate students how to plan and begin our own research projects. He is incredibly insightful and knowledgeable about all areas of sociology and he really devotes time and effort to understanding each students' research and intellectual interests. His classes are engaging, easy-going, and well taught, but most importantly Isaac really encourages and supports us in our own intellectual development and research. He has a magic touch that manages to give very sharp criticism and provocative suggestions without discouraging us. In other words he maintain a positive and optimistic yet productive teaching style that is so valuable to graduate students. Isaac also really focuses on the step by step mechanics of understanding a process - whether it is how to write a grant proposal or how to understand macro social theory. He is always willing to devote time to graduate students in office hours and is happy to if needed walk us through the steps required for any given project. He is a huge asset to UCSD and is a fixture at departmental events and workshops where he is always generous with insightful and helpful comments on how graduate students can improve their research. I have rarely had a teacher at the graduate level who was so attuned to student needs, so supportive of graduate students, understanding of the anxieties of graduate students, and pragmatic about teaching us how to accomplish our goals. Please support Isaac's nomination for this award.

Melody Daversa of Karl Strauss Brewing Company has been an ardent supporter of UCSD Graduate Students for the past three years. She has worked with the GSA and other groups of graduate students to provide quality beverages at the lowest possible costs. She has had the patience to navigate UCSD alcohol bureaucracy and has stayed a supporter of UCSD Graduate Students through a tumultuous change of staff at the local California Alcoholic Beverage Control Bureau.

I would like to nominate Michelle Vavra, the Graduate Student Advisor for the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. From grad student applicants to senior level grad students to faculty, Michelle has always been able to provide wonderful support, advice, and care. Although she is always incredibly busy, she always makes time to attend to the little details, to answer emails asking her the most bizarre questions, and to sit down with bewildered students to just talk about the grad school experience. She is incredibly knowledgeable, and somehow manages to get to know members of the huge MAE grad student body personally. I truly appreciate the care and compassion Michelle has given over the years--she has genuinely enhanced my grad student experience--and probably without her even knowing it!

I would like to nominate Nadyne Nawar, Graduate Advisor in the Department of History, for the Outstanding Graduate Student Support Staff Award. Over the past year, Nadyne has balanced an incredible amount of work with the recent reorganization of our department's advising structure and a series of staff turnovers. Amidst this stress she has not only kept her characteristic charm and collectedness, but has also continued to support the graduate students of our department in manner that well-exceeds that expected of her. Amongst her more recent acomplishments, Nadyne has aided in the creation and institutionalization of the department welcome events and admit day. She has done so working in close concert with the students of the department and the History Guild. Beyond these programmatic efforts, Nadyne has provided support for students facing a variety of hurdles including financial support issues and the navigation of departmental degree requirements. With little notice, she has personally assisted me with final preparations to file for language exams and (I'm sorry to say) more than one last-minute grant application. In every case, she thrown aside acccumulating work to not only point me in the right direction, but also to ask the important questions of her colleagues to assure that I find my way. I greatly value the contribution Nadyne has made to the history department as both a staff member and as a member of our community. Her warm personality and tremendous assistance has made my experience in graduate school a better one. I believe Nadyne embodies the exemplary qualities expected of an Outstanding Graduate Student Support Staff Award recipient, and I strongly encourage the committee to consider her nomination.

Though there are many at SIO that are deserving of consideration, Penny Dockry clearly stands out. She is a tremendous source of stability and knowledge in what has been an otherwise chaotic system. She has been able to patiently and consistently navigate around the many overlapping layers of heirarchy within the IGERT program, CMBC center, Marine Biology curricular group, Biology Division, Scripps Institution Department, and UCSD administration. She has been the only source of continuity in the well-healed-but-often-leaderless IGERT program which initially attracted many ecologists and conservationists to Scripps. Her extreme competence in managing the program behind the scenes has kept both IGERT and CMBC afloat. Her encyclopedic familiarity with regulation and policy has helped many a student towards graduation. Her facility in managing many things at once has coallated all the little things that could have become major problems wih less vigilence. She is clearly deserving of an award for her outstanding support of so many Graduate Students at SIO.

I nominate Prof. Richard Madsen to the Faculty Mentorship Award. I am a 2nd year Sociology Ph.D. Student. I graduated in 2001 from UCSD in Communication and in 2006, I entered into the UCSD Sociology program. I would've never applied if Prof. Madsen hadn't maintained a friendship with me after I graduated from UCSD as an undergrad and then encourage me to apply for a Phd 6 years later. As a first generation Chinese American and as the first female to graduate from college in the USA, I thought getting a BA was as far as I could and should go in higher education. I didn't know anyone with a Ph.D's. To me, a PhD sounded like it was out of reach for someone like me from a low-income and immigrant background. I thought PhD programs were for "smart" people and for economically well-off people. I also didn't know of any Asians in Social Science PhD programs - only Asians in Science programs, therefore I had it set in my mind that academia was not a place for someone like me. I also thought one had to have a Masters before entering a Phd program. I met Prof. Madsen when he taught one of my general requirement classes. After I graduated, we continued to stay in touch. When I was going through a transitional career period in my life, I shared my thoughts with Prof. Madsen. He encouraged to further my career goals to make social change in low-income communities by getting a Phd in Sociology. He gave the support and foundational knowledge to dispel many of the myths in my mind about Phd Programs. Ever since I entered the program, he has always been there for me whenever I needed academic support. He continues to inspire me with my research and also continues to be a great friend. He has been the most open-minded and warm-hearted advisor. It is an honor to nominate him for his ceaseless commitment to students.

Ross has been instrumental in teaching complex subject of finance in very understanding and strait forward manner. In the process he supported student ideas and initiatives and found time to answer questions on the topic and related subject to the complex field of finance.

Sarah has been a mentor since I first visited UCSD last year as a prospective student. She exudes warmth and friendliness and goes out of her way to make sure that people feel welcome and comfortable in the department. Although Sarah is always busy working herself, she always finds time for others. Whether it is a quick conversation on "gmail chat" to inquire about a worrisome away message, a lunch to talk through first-year grad school angst, or advice and suggestions about living in the city of San Diego, Sarah is the first person I turn to for help! She is extremely committed to our department and goes above and beyond to make sure that things function smoothly. She is an exceptional role model and friend.