Black Graduate Student Association

BGSA is on campus to support students of color through their educational and social endeavors as they pursue degrees of higher education. We pool together minority graduate students from all over campus with the intent of building a strong network amongst students here on the UA campus.

Built on three major pillars -- Academic Excellence, Fellowship and Community Service -- this group exists to help graduate students reach their academic potential as they mentor community youth through the networking support of one another.

Beginning in the 2008-2009 school year, the Black Graduate Students Association at the University of Arizona incorporated three working groups to fulfill the needs of our membership, campus, and Tucson community. The groups are as follows:

Now we all know the economy is in a recession, Half a million jobs were lost in November alone and it will only get worst. So kicking off 2009 in line with new yearsí financial resolutions, BGSA presents to you CASHFLOW (Consistently Acquiring Secret Habits for locating our wealth) Financial Wellness Series with guest speaker Tony Finely. Mr. Finley, CFO of Long Realty, was brought to you during the BGSA Western Regional Conference for a financial wellness seminar where he sparked graduate students to think about the business aspect of their lives. Get this, Tony only scratched the surface on what it takes to become financially set, so come join us as Mr. Finley goes in detail and conducts a two part series on ìBeginning Your Financial Lifeî. The mini-series will entail how to assess personal finances, credit card use, as well as how to create an effective budget. We all know that when we graduate, we can no longer defer those student loans therefore there should be a plan in place.

Day 1: Understanding the Basics of Finance

• Needs vs. Wants
• Net Worth: Assets and Liabilities
• Credit and Debt
• Goals: Short and Long Term
• Expenses: Where does your money go?
• Personal/Family Budgeting

Day 2: Living your Life and Accumulating Wealth

• Budget Review
• Saving and Investing
• Car Buying Advice
• Buying your First House
• Other "Big Ticket" Items: Furniture, Appliances, Electronics, etc.
• Insurance and Identify Theft
• Estate Planning

Contact Chinedu at cnworu@hotmail.com for more info.

The Chalk Talk program was developed in an effort to increase communication on individual research interest topics among BGSA members. As graduate students and professionals in training, it is imperative that we be able to relay information about our specific interests to an audience with a vast array of deciplines and specialties. The Chalk Talk program will develop our learning, listening, and critical thinking skills in a relaxed setting. Each session will feature one BGSA member, with white board and marker, who will describe his/her current research project. Listeners will be able to interrupt and ask questions for better comprehension during this discussion-style presentation. For more information on this program or to sign up for a presenter's slot, please contact Rowena at rowenac@email.arizona.edu by 09/25/09. Once the first presenter has been scheduled, notification of Chalk Talk activity will be sent out to BGSA listserv.

The BGSA-UA writing group was developed as a way for BGSA members to enhance their writing skills with the support network of a group. Members in the process of writing their thesis or dissertation, or even papers from coursework are encouraged to participate in this group. Members will bring their papers/projects to writing group sessions in order to receive feedback and suggestions from other group members. "Penalties" of not bringing in revised writing samples may require that BGSA member to bring snacks for the entire writing group. Sessions are intended to be held every other week on a set time decided by writing group members. For more information or interest in joining the BGSA-UA Writing Group, please contact Gerard at gerardr@email.arizona.edu. Click here for more info on the BGSA Academic Writing Group.