Every April, the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies takes a step back from the usual pace of academic life to say thank you. Graduate Student Appreciation Week, held this year April 6-10, was a chance to recognize the researchers, scholars, and community members who are at the heart of the Guarini community.
“I’m continually struck by the curiosity, rigor, and energy that graduate students add to Dartmouth,” said Dean Jon Kull ’88. “Graduate Student Appreciation Week is our chance to step back and say thank you. We are enormously grateful for the many graduate student contributions to our community.”
The week kicked off Monday with a crafting session at the Guarini Commons and guided tours of the Baker Tower, where students made their way up to the catwalk, took in views of Hanover, and added their names to the wall of signatures left by those who have made the climb before them.
“Guarini graduate students have expressed sincere gratitude for the many events taking place this week,” said Amy Keeler, assistant dean of graduate student affairs. “It’s been amazingly fun to celebrate their campus contributions!”
Tuesday featured a free breakfast at the Class of ’53 Commons with Dartmouth’s Community and Campus Life staff followed by a drop-in card-making session at Baker-Berry Library’s Book Arts studio and a writing workshop for multilingual writers.
Wednesday was about slowing down and connecting: coffee with faculty advisors at Ramekin Café, a greenhouse tour at the Life Sciences Center, and a Sip and Study session in Guarini Commons, co-hosted by Graduate Student Council Academic Chair Yifei Gao.
“Graduate school can feel pretty siloed, so what stood out most to me this week was seeing people across departments, years, and programs slow down and actually connect,” said Gao.
“That was the spirit behind Sip and Study: a low-stakes, cozy space to get some work done or just enjoy being around each other. Seeing something created with students’ needs in mind made me feel like our experiences actually matter at Guarini.”
On Thursday, Associate Professor of Sociology Janice McCabe stopped by for a lunch time talk on friendship and social connection in graduate school. Later, Senior Vice President for Advancement Kate Hesser, who is a certified tea sommelier, led a tea tasting and succulent planting session, and the day wrapped up with over 200 grad students gathering for an evening mixer at Ramunto’s Brick and Brew Pizzeria.
The week concluded Friday with an invite-only luncheon honoring Outstanding Graduate Student Teacher nominees and a self-guided crafting session at the Hood Museum of Art’s makerspace, a collaboration between the Guarini School and the Hood where students spent the afternoon a making art and taking a breath before heading back to their research and scholarship.
Graduate Student Appreciation Week comes once a year. This year, the Guarini community put together events with food, tea, flowers, tours, and art to say thank you.
