Connect With Your Community

Check the Program Calendar above for dates and times of these program events:

• Year-Round: Superfriends, Program Happy Hours, DEIB Coffee Chats and Community Dinners, Neuro Student Network Panels and Fireside Chats
• September: SIN Tea Time, Post-SIN BBQ 
• October: Student Retreat 
• November: Recruitment at Society for Neuroscience annual meeting 
• December: Holiday Party
• February/March: Interview Session

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Connect with the larger Stanford neurosciences community through the Institute's announcements, seminars, and events.

Stanford Biosciences Student Association
SBSA creates opportunities for students to connect and excel while providing the social network necessary for a well-connected and interdisciplinary research program.

Student Representative (Rep) roles were created in direct response to needs for the program that previous students have identified and offer a way to positively impact the quality of the program for everyone. 

• Welcome Reps - Cal Bridges and Nour Omar - Coordinate the Peer Mentorship program for first year students and provide input on orientation programming.
• Social Reps - Jack Marciano and Matthew Matrongolo - Coordinate student Happy Hours, SIN Tea Time, and other social activities.
• Recruitment Reps - Chase Antonacci and Jocelyn Ricard - Participate in admissions information sessions and outreach events.
• Retreat Reps - Pia Alderman and Kamsi Nwangwu - Lead the retreat speaker selection process and collaborate with staff and Social Reps to plan retreat activities.
• Admissions Reps - Mahad Ahmed and Sabrina Jones - Coordinate student-applicant host matches and social events during Interview Session/Visit Day.coordinate student-applicant host matches and social events during Interview Session/Visit Day.
• Student Speaker Reps - Lorna Jayne and Chelsea Li - Coordinate Superfriends, which are monthly talks by senior students. 

2023-24 Committee Members: Ashley Moses (Year 2), Kayla Vodehnal (Year 3), Alex Durango (Year 4), Jenny Kang and Ellen Gingrich (Year 5+). A representative from Year 1 will join in January 2024.

Mission Statement: The Stanford Neurosciences Student Program Committee (SPC) was founded in 2019 as a way to establish formal student advocacy in the Neurosciences Ph.D. program. The goal of the SPC is to foster a program culture of trust and mutual support among students and program leadership. To accomplish this, the SPC has been composed of one student representative from each year’s cohort (1-5+). Student representatives are tasked with assessing the needs and wishes of the student body and advocating for such during meetings with program leadership. While we strive to align program outcomes with student wishes, it is important to recognize that some requests may not be feasible due to certain constraints. In such cases, the SPC ensures transparent communication to clarify the reasons behind such decisions. Student representatives are encouraged to use both formal (polling) and informal (day-to-day socializing) means to assess and convey the needs of the students, and ensure those needs are being heard. 

The SPC recognizes the importance of student input during the decision-making process that could affect curriculum, community, admissions, and DEI efforts in the Neurosciences community. As such, the SPC strives to act as a conduit between student needs, program committees, and program leadership to facilitate congruence in decisions. To this end, the SPC has established formal communication with relevant program committees to ensure open, multi-directional communication. By increasing transparency and advocating for student needs, the SPC works towards the ultimate goal of empowering students in the Neuro IDP.

The SPC serves as a hub between all other program committees and leadership. Below is a list of specific responsibilities that the SPC has.

1. Organize and lead student-only town hall meetings to discuss any issues, concerns, or feedback from the student body

   1. Town halls will also function as a formal, regular means for each program committee (DEIB, Mental Health, Mentoring and Advising, as well as Curriculum and  Admissions as needed) to disseminate updates directly to students. 

   2. Town halls are intended to be a safe space for students and will also be used as a means of building community.

   3. Issue-specific town halls can be called as needed.

2. Gather student feedback on new program initiatives, community involvement, homeroom space, etc.

3. Generate ideas and strategies for implementing policies or events that address student needs and wishes.

4. Meet as a committee once a month to assess the effectiveness of current initiatives, address the needs of other program committees, review feedback from town halls, and plan future activities.

Neuro Student Network (NSN) is a student-run organization whose goal is to demystify the graduate experience and give students the behind-the-scenes knowledge of how to survive grad school. We also hope to provide a supportive environment and provide a space where folks can connect across cohorts to get the information and support they need!

During the school year, we put on panels with senior students who give advice on the major milestone events we all have to go through: picking a lab, qualifying, defending, and everything in between. We also put on “fireside chats” that are meant to be free-form sessions where attendees determine what we talk about; often, we talk about various challenges we face at various points in graduate school.