My statement for the Graduate Welfare Committee Elections

Hi, my name is Matt Thrasher. I am in my fourth year working with Dr. Swinney on fluid experiments. I want to be your advocate when decisions are being made that affect us. I am most interested in compiling more information about resources available to us grad students. Did you know that the highest paid grad students make almost twice as much money as the lowest paid grad students? What have others done about feeling guilty about not doing enough work? How does you find a job after graduation? How do you get a study office in PCL? Where have other students found outside funding? Where can you find a good dentist or mechanic or eye doctor? How can you get an interdisciplinary PhD in Physics and Engineering? Did you know the university provides free legal help? There are lots of useful and free resources within the university and city. I would collect this information through a survey of grad students and faculty, asking about problems they've encountered and their solutions for dealing with them, tips for living in Austin, salary, time management, life balance, etc. Then I will compile and publish this information online and in print. I would also like to start interviewing students who are graduating to find out what they wish they had known beforehand and what resources were most helpful. In the same vein, I want to help further the peer-mentoring between grad students within the department.