AGAPSS PD Session: Coping, caring, and grieving - how to support grad student trainees and yourself when the world is on fire
Join Jessica M. Vélez, PhD, for this interactive workshop and learn about specific, actionable steps you can take to support grad student and postdoc trainees and yourself in times of personal crisis. During this workshop, you will work in teams to develop and present plans of action to bring back to your workplace and begin instituting or further improving the resources you have available at your institution. This workshop has been adapted from Dr. Vélez’s article Grad School Doesn’t Stop for a Crisis, published in Carpe Career in April 2025.
Speaker Bio
Jessica M. Vélez, PhD, is the Senior Manager of Engagement, Community Building, and Professional Development for the Genetics Society of America, as well as a certified career coach. She earned her PhD in Energy Science and Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, after previously earning a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology (UT Knoxville) and a Bachelor of Arts in English (University of Texas at Austin). She is a National GEM Fellowship alumni and an active member of the Graduate Career Consortium and SACNAS.
The Administrators in Graduate and Professional Student Services (AGAPSS) Knowledge Community provides a supportive forum for administrators who work to meet the needs of graduate and professional students. Members work across many different educational settings and often manage diverse elements of a holistic academic and student services portfolio in support of graduate and professional student success. Program formats supported by our members include both degree and non-degree student experiences, and range from traditional research-based programs, to professional school offerings, to rapidly evolving and innovative continuing education programs and formats.
NASPA is the professional home for the field of student affairs, and AGAPSS is the home for graduate student advocacy and success within NASPA.