1. Amanda Overton
As a member of the 2008-2009 Finance Committee I learned just how integral the funding proposal and approval process is to the success of our Graduate Organizations. I am very familiar with the policies and procedures regarding GPSS funding and I would be committed to helping all organizations demystify the funding approval process.
Before coming to USC, I spent 2 years as an administrative assistant at a university where one of my tasks was reconciling the ledgers and balancing our department’s $180,000 budget. I am meticulous, organized, accessible and familiar with university financial procedure, all of which would make me an ideal candidate for this position.
I really enjoyed my involvement in GPSS as a Senator last year and as the Finance Chair I will strive to streamline the funding approval process in the monthly meetings and make the policies as transparent and easy to understand as possible.
2. Salman Khaleghi
My name is Salman Khaleghi and I am a third year PhD student at Electrical Engineering department. Before coming to USC I got my Bachelor's from Sharif University of Technology, Iran. While there, I was involved in our department's student association where we organized conferences, New Year events, orientations, and student trips. Last year, I was the Vice President of the Iranian Graduate Students Association (IGSA), where most of our events where cosponsored with GPSS, VGSA and ISA. Working closely with GPSS and VGSA finance chairs on writing and presenting proposals, and also with Cynthia for following up the process, I became familiar with GPSS finance chair duties. This year, I will be a member of the Natural Sciences, Math, and Engineering subcommittee on the Provost's University Committee on Curriculum. As for the coming year, I hope I can get the chance to serve the graduate students community as the GPSS finance chair.
3. Rajat Shah
I am Rajat Shah, a Masters student from Electrical Engineering Department. I have been a senator ever since I joined USC in Fall 08’. I am currently the Students Concerns Committee chair at VGSA. I have also been a part of the Finance committee there for over a year now. Number crunching is something that comes naturally to me and after organizing so many events for VGSA I am as comfortable with financial functions as I can possibly be. In GPSS, I hope to allocate the limited funds that we have as efficiently and resourcefully as I possibly can with the same precision in which I design Microprocessors to allocate system resources. My advantage is that I can look at the budget and the finance requests both from an allocators point of view as well as from a finance requester’s point of view and I am determined to make the latter’s life easier now onwards.
4. Kelly Mowat
I am running for the Finance Chair position because I believe that a student will not get everything they can out of their educational institution unless they get involved in their campus community. Since high school, I have a made a point to immerse myself within the community and get to know my peers outside the classroom. As a graduate student, I feel no different. By becoming involved in GPSS I will have the ability and resources to reach out to other USC graduate students and be one of their supporters and voices as Finance Chair. My previous leadership positions during undergrad include RHA President (2 years), USG Senior Senator, RHA Vice President, and student representative to various college wide committees. As a president of a student organization I understand how to properly balance a budget as well as have the organizational skills and attention for detail necessary to be a successful Finance Chair.
5. Inderjit Johal
Passion not position is the courage behind what drives me to apply for this position within GPSS as the Finance Chair.
My education has taught me to work with people from diverse cultural backgrounds and have scored a competitive GPA during my tenure as a student till date. Not only education but soccer as a sport has helped me to realize the importance of working as a team.I also have past experiences in maintain the responsibility of handling finances for various events during my tenure as the Council member in my college.
I would like to express that I fully understand the duties and the responsibilities of the Finance chair and can relate these very well and feel if given an opportunity will also serve to my full capacity to stand up for the university to complete all the stated responsibilities
6. Ankit Gothi
As we all know that a student joining U.S.C which is by far one of the most prominent and reputed college in U.S expects the best platform to expose and explore his/her talent during his/her stay in the college and so do I. On searching more information about this position of Finance chair I realized that even I can be a part of such a body which is involved in helping the students out in every respect. This is the most important aspect for an incoming student and I don’t want to miss this opportunity to be helpful, enthusiastic and more impromptu to the situations where I guess these qualities are required the most which comes naturally to me.
After reading through the list of workouts which a Finance Chair must perform, I feel that all these duties must be performed in the right spirits and with a feeling of respect. Hence I feel that I am aware of all the know-how about this position and what this position expects from me, which I can definitely utilize under any circumstances.
7. Xin Jiang
Changing my career focus from teaching to administration, moving from China to Hawaii, and now to Los Angeles, I constantly go beyond my comfort zone to explore the diversity of our society, which, I believe, is the key to equality. Now I want to dedicate my passion, experience and efforts to building our community into a beautiful mosaic, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place.
8. Jon Fu
Having been a GPSS Senator for 3 years and on the Finance Committee for 2 years, I have been and will continue to be committed to ensuring that GPSS balances a proper budget and provides funds to finance organizations fairly and properly. I understand the system that is currently in place for reviewing finance requests and have been active in reviewing finance requests. For this academic year, I hope to bring more awareness to organizations who need funds as well as individuals who need funds for travel grants. I look forward to serving you as the Finance Chair for 2009-2010.
9. Muhammad Ali Amer
My exposure to financial management spans one major project and several small-scale instances. From Oct 2001 to May 2003, I managed an $800,000 grant to automate one of Pakistan’s best colleges. I was successful in implementing the automation of the college within the allocated budget including design, software, hardware, setup and training. More recently, I was chair of the GRUF BG (2006-7). At the time our funding rep was unavailable. I managed BG funds as chair. Currently I am a 2nd year RA. I have been able to host fairly large programs owing to my moneywise fund handling. As a Grad student, I have always been involved in student life. It is now my endeavor to reach a much broader student body with the help of the GPSS and at the same time utilize my experiences in something I can easily relate to.
10. Wen-Hua (William) Yang
I am currently a graduate student in Electrical Engineering and I will be transferring to the Department of Mathematics next semester. As an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois, my past involvement with campus organizations includes leadership positions inthe University Senate, the Student Informational Technology Board of the Provost &Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Awards Committee of the Engineering Council, and on the Corporate Committee of the Society for Business & Management in Engineering. I am committed to carry out the functions of the GPSS Finance Committee and I am excited about the prospect of shouldering some of the responsibilities and challenges of GPSS. It will be a great privilege to serve as the Chair and I thank you for your support and consideration!
11. Juanita Price
My name is Juanita Price and I am running for Finance Chair because I believe that I have the past experience and the dedication needed to fulfill this position. GPSS mission is to enhance the USC graduate and professional students experience with the goal of providing funding for advocacy, community building and education. I have experience in raising and managing student funds; organizing student advocacy efforts; being proactive with student organization to build strong student communities; and educating students on their rights, resources and opportunities. I have served on various student body legislative local, state and national boards. I am a well organized team leader and understand that careful financial stewardship is an important component to GPSS’s continued success. Thank you in advance for your support and I look forward to meeting with you personally. I can be reached at juanitap@usc.edu if you have any questions.