The Graduate Student Council elected its executive board for the 2026-27 school year at its general body meeting on Wednesday. Five positions on the GSC’s 13-member board were claimed in uncontested elections, while three were left unfilled after no student declared candidacy.
GSC President Kevin LoGiudice ScM ’21 GS ran unopposed and was elected for a third term, while Nikita Redkar GS won reelection as vice president for advocacy over opponent Mahdi Boulila GS.
Moderated by Aysun Akhundlu GS, the outgoing GSC chair of nominations, candidates were given two minutes to present opening remarks. After responding to pre-selected questions tailored to their prospective positions, candidates were asked to step out as department representatives voted.
In uncontested races, incumbent Chair of Technology Dominique Walker GS was reelected and current Co-Chair of Social Events Laurel Thorne GS was elected chair of communications. Newcomer Megha Agrawal GS will serve as chair of education, and Boulila claimed a seat as co-chair of social events after losing his bid to become vice president of advocacy.
Alexxa Cruz-Bonilla GS won the role of treasurer and Diana Ferreyra Faustino GS was elected chair of diversity, equity and inclusion. Both were elected over Sima Raha ’26, an incoming master’s student who ran for both roles.
The race for chair of international advocacy drew four candidates, the most of any election at Wednesday’s meeting, though Agrawal and Boulila withdrew after receiving other positions. Election winner Tvisha Shah GS said she will prioritize increased access to information on changing visa requirements and travel bans.
Paige McKenzie GS won the position of chair of master’s advocacy over Amanda Loewy GS after Agrawal withdrew.
Three roles — chair of student life, chair of nominations and one co-chair of social events position — went unclaimed. The GSC will recruit interim chairs to serve over the summer, and official elections for the roles will be held at the body’s next meeting in September, according to LoGiudice.
Following elections, Akhundlu announced this year’s Wilson-DeBlois Award and Bates-Clapp Award recipients, which recognize staff and community members who have made “outstanding contributions” to doctoral and master’s students, respectively, according to the Graduate School’s website.
The GSC selected Michele Welindt, a pathobiology graduate program coordinator, for the Wilson-DeBlois Award, and honored Olaide Sobola, a security guard at the School of Public Health, with the Bates-Clapp Award. The awards will be presented during Commencement Weekend later this month.
Walker also announced the launch of a new GSC website. LoGiudice described the GSC’s previous platform as “very outdated.”
“Thank you all for an amazing year,” LoGiudice said at the end of the meeting. “I was really impressed by all the grad students’ resilience.”
“I’m really proud of us all,” he added.
Noa Saviano is a senior staff writer covering Graduate Schools and Students. She is a freshman from New York City and plans on concentrating in Comparative Literature and Cognitive Science.
