WHO WE ARE.
The Graduate Student Association (GSA) is an independent, member-driven organization whose purpose is to serve and further the interests of all graduate students at UNB, whether they are in Fredericton, Saint John, or anywhere else in the world. All full and part-time graduate students enrolled at UNB are members of the GSA. Together we are over 1600 students strong.
The GSA is the official voice of graduate students, both within and outside the UNB community. Elected representatives sit on a variety of university committees to ensure that student concerns are presented, and we work to bring about changes to university policy to improve the academic and social experience of graduate students.
Outside of the university community, the GSA lobbies municipal, provincial, and federal government on issues such as post-secondary education funding and policy, academic freedom, and research commercialization through our membership in the Canadian Federation of Students and its National Graduate Caucus.
A place to call your own
Graduate students have their own place to gather on both campuses. In Fredericton, the Alden Nowlan House (more commonly known as the Grad House, located at 676 Windsor Street) serves as a hub for GSA activities. The GSA office as well as the board room/computer loft are located upstairs, while on the ground floor you will find the Windsor Castle Bar, the President’s room, and space to sit and study or just relax. And the back deck is a great place to enjoy a sunny afternoon! Events at the house include literature readings, live music, and guest speakers. Look for notices about upcoming events in our eNewsletter, In the Knowlan
In Saint John, you can drop by the GSA Lounge, located in Ganong Hall, room 203. The Lounge boasts couches, a fridge for your lunch, a coffeemaker, a microwave, a printer, as well as a laptop and projector for anyone wanting to practice presentations/defences. Additions to the Lounge are welcome – contact the GSA-SJ executive committee to make suggestions about what you’d like to see in the Lounge.
Get involved.
We hope that your experience at UNB will be a positive one – and becoming involved in the GSA is a great way to enhance that experience! We are always looking for members to sit as departmental representatives on GSA Council/Cabinet, to help organise events, or to serve on one of many committees. To find out more about how you can get involved and about the services offered by the GSA, read on, drop by the office in the Grad House or the GSA Lounge.
To meet and discuss with any of the executive members of the Graduate Student Association, contact by email for availability times and appointment.
Executive Committee.
To meet and discuss with any of the executive members of the Graduate Student Association, contact by email for availability times and appointment.
Khaleel Arfeen
VP- External
Khaleel Arfeen is a MSCE candidate in Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, studying Ocean Mapping. He obtained his Bachelor degree from the University of Waterloo in Geomatics and Computer Science. He is the CFS National Executive for New Brunswick.
As VP External his goals are to help negotiate a the Bus Pass and Health & Dental plans to serve the UNB graduate students.
Aside from work, he enjoys travelling, reading, investing and entrepreneurship.
Questions or Concerns?
Email: vpexternal@unbgsa.ca
Mehboob Reza
VP- Academic
Mehboob Reza is a PhD Candidate specializing in Ergonomics/Workplace Musculoskeletal Injuries in the Faculty of Kinesiology and he is also one of the Elected Board of Directors at the Canadian Society of Safety Engineers, New Brunswick chapter.
Reza holds a MSc in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) from the University of Greenwich, UK and he is also the Chartered Safety & Health Professional Member of IOSH in the UK.
His 09 years of professional OHS management experience includes numerous citations for excellence in leadership relating to various international projects, industry in collaboration with professional organization in the OHS domain, and he is highly respected figure in the construction safety management business arena.
Reza is very passionate about improving Occupational H&S, Ergonomics at the workplace; and strongly support the principles of cultivating the seeds of higher education among the learners by advocate the rights for graduate students – because students are the future leaders of our Canadian society.
Questions or Concerns?
Email- vpacademic@unbgsa.ca
Andrea Rivera
VP, Events
Andrea Rivera is pursuing a Masters of Education in Counselling Psychology. Andrea has worked with culturally diverse groups as an ESL Coordinator by providing English language classes and helping refugees, immigrants and international students with a variety of issues ranging from career development to mental health concerns. Consequently, she is interested in counselling culturally diverse groups and she is keen to contribute to the development of online counselling services.
Questions or Concerns?
Email- vpsocietiesandevents@unbgsa.ca
Rajat Sharma
Vice President
Rajat Sharma is an Electrical Engineer from Punjab, India. Currently in his Final year MBA (Master of Business Administration). He is proactive in providing information for all those who seek help. He served as web admin for Indian Students Association at University of New Brunswick for a year and an active treasurer of MBA department from past a year.
His capabilities and caliber has rewarded him with MBA community leadership award.
Apart from this, He is a State level Athlete and has high spirit for various sports.
Questions or Concerns?
Email- vpadmin@unbgsa.ca
Bipin Narayanan
VP Finance
Bipin Kumar is M.Sc.candidate in Faculty of Comuter Science. He is also part of the Dual degree programme in collaboration with Bonn Rhein Sieg University of Applied Sciences, studying Masters in Autonomous Systems. He got his Bachelor’s degree from Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering, Anna University, Chennai, India.
Outside of work and studies, I will be Trekking, Camping and various outdoor activities like Biking, Kayaking, etc.
Questions or Concerns?
Email: vpfinance@unbgsa.ca
Brittany Dixon
President
Brittany Dixon is a MSc candidate in Biology. She completed her undergraduate degree here at UNB with a Bachelor of Science in 2013. Currently, she is working alongside the Canadian Rivers Institute and the Mactaquac Aquatic Ecosystem Study to research the distribution and behaviour of migrating American eels as they make their upstream approach to the Mactaquac Generating Station.
She currently serves as the President of the Graduate Student Association. She has created a mandate that showcases the importance of student solidarity and support. She want to stress the importance of a positive working relationship where all graduate students feel involved and heard within the association.
Questions about Events?
Email: president@unbgsa.ca
Saint John Executive Committee.
To meet and discuss with any of the executive members of the Graduate Student Association, contact by email for availability times and appointment.
Kristin Dinning
Chief Returning Officer
I am a PhD candidate in Biology where I study the habitat use and behaviour of juvenile lobsters. I also received my MSc degree from UNBSJ and hold a BSc degree from Dalhousie University. I have volunteered with the UNBSJ-GSA in some capacity since 2012 (as President, VP Communications, Chief Returning Officer, or advisor). As Chief Returning Officer for 2019, it is my goal to ensure the continuity of the GSA and enable a smooth transition between academic years by running elections, staffing all executive and council member positions, providing advice, and mediating internal disputes.
Samuel Sweeney
Liaison To Fredericton
Sam is a 24 year old marine biologist who began his MSc in September 2018 in Saint John in the department of Biological Sciences, where he studies narwhals in the Arctic. Before beginning his masters program, he attended Dalhousie University completing an honours in marine biology and a minor in statistics. He was heavily involved in student societies during his time there, including serving as an elected president for the Dalhousie Association of Biology Students in his final year.
Sam is the GSA Saint John Liaison to Fredericton and is responsible for representing the graduate students during the GSA Fredericton meetings. Using his previous experience in representing student societies, Sam hopes to ensure that the voices of students in Saint John are well heard in the GSA meetings in Fredericton, so that all Graduate students of the University of New Brunswick are properly represented in GSA affairs.
Lokesh Purbia
VP Finance
Lokesh is also known by his nickname Lucky in the campus. He is a soft-spoken, polite and pleasant personality. He believes in ethics and integrity. He always motivates his fellows and team to achieve common goals. In Academics, he completed Executive Post Graduate Program in Management with specialization in Finance from IMT, Ghaziabad (Consistently ranked among top 10 Business school of India & accredited by AACSB). Currently, he is enrolled in MBA program. He has 13 years of rich experience in the area of core finance, banking, accounting, and relationship management. In his last assignment, he worked with Reliance Jio as an FC&A Lead (Finance, Compliance and Accounting Leader) on a mega project of LTE (4G business) project size is $27.53 billion.
His mission is to help students to build a network and provide an opportunity for them to grow as great business leaders and community members.
Swayam Sarkar
VP Communication
Swayam is an energetic communicator and a public speaker. He has served in various leadership roles in his previous employment and in his community. He believes that he can leverage his previous experience to reach out to everyone and make a difference.
Swayam has worked in several roles in the field of information technology for around three years. He holds a degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering and is currently pursuing his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of New Brunswick.
Swayam holds strong interpersonal skills and firmly believes in unity through diversity. He is easily approachable and is always willing to lend a helping hand. He understands the hectic schedule of graduate students and will aim to ensure that all updates reach them in a clear and timely manner, to make informed decisions.
Balaji Manivannan
VP Admin
Balaji Manivannan is a leather engineer by profession and sports enthusiast. A simple and humble person by nature, Balaji used sports as a tool to enhance his people skills, problem-solving skills and leadership skills. He was elected as the Vice President- Administration for GSA. Due to his good administrative skills, he would handle this role very effectively and efficiently. He would be responsible for monitoring GSA email account, to answer questions and forward requests to the correct executive member, records meeting minutes, books all events.
Balaji completed his Bachelors on Leather Engineering. During his study, he got insights into various management studies starts from entrepreneurship, logistics and supply chain management. After his graduation, he got placed in Alpharama Private Limited as a Technical Manager. It is one of the biggest leather manufacturing organizations in East Africa. He met with a lot of peoples from different backgrounds not only from Africa but also from other parts of the world. During this phase, he received a good amount of diversified experience. He has a good amount of insight in project management as well as logistics and supply chain management. Because of these fascinations, he drove to study MBA in Canada in one of the esteemed university in the world.
In the past three months at UNB, Balaji has grown as a person. This position in Graduate Students Association will help him to serve his colleagues better. He will do his level best in serving the graduate students community.
Corinne Kincade
President
I am honored and excited about the opportunity to serve as President of the Graduate Students Association for UNB Saint John. Over the last number of years, I have been so fortunate, first as a student during my undergrad then as an MBA candidate, to come to know many of you.
Our common journey here at UNB is not only as learners and active members of our community but as people who want to make a difference, to help and to have an impact on the lives of others.
We have many good reasons to feel great optimism about the coming year. Your GSA is committed to our work and to serving your interests. We thank you all for your willingness to give us that opportunity and look forward to working with every one of you through meetings, working groups, and conversation to make this year a successful one.
I truly appreciate your support in the coming year and the opportunity to serve as President.
Contact Info
Mobile: +1-506-453-4700
Email: office@unbgsa.ca
