The Graduate and Professional Student Association held their first ever fundraising reception Friday evening.

Various faculty members, as well as Pullman Mayor Francis Benjamin and Elizabeth Chilton, Provost and Executive Vice President, were present at the event.

The reception was held to fundraise money for GPSA travel programs, said Ashley Wells, GPSA internal affairs chair.

“Our vision is to enrich the graduate student experience academically, professionally and socially,” she said.

Wells said GPSA’s goal in hosting the fundraiser was not only to earn money for travel programs, but also to educate WSU students and other Pullman residents about the significance of GPSA and the way it supports students at WSU.

“Our goal is not only to fundraise money for GPSA conference travel grants, but it is also to familiarize and remind the WSU population about all that GPSA does to support and fund graduate students at large,” Wells said.

There were various student speakers present at the event, including student representatives from different organizations such as the Nigerian Students and Scholars Association, as well as individual students who are members of GPSA.

Three different travel grant speeches were given at the event, by student speakers Ramin Sepehrirad, Albert Junior Nyarko and Justine Trinh.

Trinh, who is a PhD student in English literature, said GPSA has played a large role in her success at WSU as a student with disabilities and has provided her with many resources to ensure a successful career in Pullman.

“When I was first admitted to WSU, I didn’t think I would be able to do anything,” she said. “I’m currently on medical treatment that requires me to fly back to California every month. And I started this treatment a month before I headed to WSU.”

Trinh said she felt like she was at a disadvantage in relationship to her peers when she first arrived at WSU, both because it is costly to fly back and forth to California and also because the frequent trips were long and time consuming.

“I didn’t think I had the funding or the energy to attend any conferences or workshops,” she said. “Yet when I had the opportunity to present my work, I couldn’t say no and I looked into ways to attend. Because of the travel grant, I was able to attend various conferences in my department, which allowed me to  network with my peers.”

There were also various musical performances at the event by organizations such as the Indian Student Association, the Association of Bangladeshi Students and Scholars and an individual singing performance completed by Daniela Alpire from Mariachi Leones del Monte.

Dr. Tammy Barry, the Graduate and Professional Education Vice Provost, emphasized the importance of raising money for GPSA travel grant programs.

“This is a really important mission for GPSA,” she said. “It’s one of those places where we could always use more. And the thing about travel grants is that 100% of your contributions are literally going to help the students on their journey.”

Barry said that she is proud of the members of GPSA and feels that the future is in good hands, knowing that they have the opportunities to go out in the world and make it a better place with their education and research.

“The world’s a scary place, but I always felt like we’re in good hands,” she said. “I want to look for all the opportunities we can to support them and this is a really important way to do that.”