New Students and Postdocs welcomed to campus at Graduate Division Celebration

New students and postdocs were welcomed to campus on Koret Quad with free food, a raffle with tempting prizes and a chance to mix with people from the UCSF community.

With over 700 people in attendance at the September 15 event, this was a great opportunity to mingle, chat, and enjoy free food and ice cream. Vice Chancellor of Student Academic Affairs Elizabeth Watkins called out the lucky raffle winners, who walked away with goodies like gift certificates and UCSF swag.  Additionally, student organizations, including Associated Students of the Grad Division, Women in Life Sciences at UCSF, the Science Policy Group, and Society for Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) at UCSF, had the opportunity to greet students and recruit new membership.

“The Graduate Division BBQ has always been a great way to start the year, both offering opportunities to meet new students as well as reconnect with older ones," said Raul Torres, a 4th year BMS student and a SACNAS officer. "Everyone at the beginning of the year is always full of energy, and being at the BBQ presented a great opportunity to draw some of that energy into our chapter.” 

“(This) is a great venue to recruit new members, inform students about what science policy is, what projects we work on the and type of events we hold during the academic year,” added Alison Leaf from the Science Policy Group.

After all the prizes had been handed out, and the free food trickled away, students played games in the quad while enjoying some rare San Francisco sunshine.