My name is Shenese Patterson, and I am a graduate student in the Higher Education & Student Affairs Master's program. I am keenly interested in taking on the role of President or Vice President of the Graduate Student Association. I believe I am well-suited for this position due to my profound affection for Buffalo State and my extensive experience as a student leader and professional staff member across various departments, including Residence Life, EOP, Student Engagement, Admissions, and more.
Despite Buffalo State's challenging weather, the university has presented me with numerous opportunities to nurture my leadership skills and personal growth. Working in diverse departments has allowed me to cultivate a strong passion for advocating for student needs and offering them support. From my time as an undergraduate to now pursuing my graduate studies at Buffalo State, I am consistently driven to contribute to this institution which has been instrumental in shaping my career. The connections I've formed with faculty, friends, and colleagues have greatly contributed to my success and sense of belonging on campus.
Greetings all! My name is Cinnamon Morris, and I am pursuing a master's degree in public relations. I am a graduate assistant at the Alumni Association on campus and a freelance social media manager and public relations specialist partnering with non-profit organizations in the city of Niagara Falls. As a hybrid-student (my master’s program is fully online, but I am a graduate assistant on campus) I bring with me a dual perspective on the student experience. This unique perspective allows me to identify diverse avenues of support for graduate students both online and on campus. I also strongly hold the belief that my experience in communications, community relations, and social media management, coupled with my passion for academia and seeing my fellow graduate students succeed, make me a solid candidate for the significant role of Executive Vice President of the GSA. It is my hope that my experience can assist in building connections to resources, support and opportunities for growth and development—personally and professionally—for all graduate students. During my term As Executive Vice President, I aim to leverage my experience and passion to uplift the graduate student body and ensure the GSA is adequately represented in its communications efforts with students and partnering organizations on and off-campus. My intent is to serve you to the best of my ability with compassion, expertise, and an unwavering motivation to cultivate pathways to success. In closing, I would like to express that I am beyond excited to have the opportunity to serve and uplift my fellow graduate students for the duration of my term. I will work diligently to represent and support you and all the successes you stand to gain in your academic journey. I humbly appreciate your consideration.
In May 2020, I received my bachelor's in electrical engineering from Buffalo State and was an RA on campus for two years. I am currently a Process Engineer at Telsa while going to school part-time to receive my Master's in Creativity and Change Leadership. These experiences will make me a great VP of Finance for the GSA. Data manipulation and data visualization are a considerable part of my job. I can establish a baseline and then map out a plan to hit a target. With my experience from Tesla and the knowledge I am learning from my master's program in Creativity and Change Leadership, I am confident I can solve problems and positively impact the GSA. Being a campus RA helped me understand the student's needs in the residence halls. I will consider the graduate students' needs while serving them as VP of finance.
I am interested in the position of Vice president for administration because I have been on campus for almost six years, I am aware of what the campus needs and what would bring students to events. Being in Graduate School for a year now I know what Buffalo State needs and can advocate for graduate students not just in my program but other programs on campus. It is my goal to be in contact with the other graduate students at Buffalo state so we can all come together and mix and mingle. I would help plan these events to help us all be able to come together. We are all going to be professionals in the near future, so I think it is essential to start networking early and building relationships with our fellow professionals.
