Welcome to GSS

Dear Graduate Students,

We at the Graduate Student Senate (GSS) would like to welcome you to the Bobcat family, Ohio University! You are joining a unique community of diverse, inclusive, and enthusiastic students here. You will meet students from all over the globe and experience many cultures. You are going to be a global student! GSS is the leading student body government at Ohio University, representing all graduate and professional students' needs, interests, and opinions. We strive to ensure the fair representation and treatment of all graduate students and support your academic and social experiences at the university. Each academic college/department/program recognized by the Graduate College is eligible for representation in GSS. You are encouraged to represent your college and department as a College Senator, Department Representative, or Commissioner. As a leader in GSS, you can:

-Learn the latest issues affecting the graduate and professional students' lives 
-Bring individual graduate student and departmental needs to the general assembly
-Vote on issues and concerns impacting graduate student life
-Represent graduate students on university committees

If you are interested in GSS and want more information, please feel free to email us at gss@ohio.edu or visit our website www.ohio.edu/gss. We want you to get involved and make your voice heard.

Know your Executive Team 

President: Kübra Civan

Kübra is a third-year international doctoral student from Turkey in the Counselor Education and Supervision program. She completed both her mental health counseling bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Turkey and additionally studied graduate-level courses at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC). Her master’s thesis is about college students’ mental health help-seeking behaviors and understanding the stigma around mental health.  Kübra worked as a school counselor on the border of Syria in an active war zone before coming to the USA to pursue her Ph.D. and is working as an Adjunct Professor at Youngstown State University and a reflective Practitioner Supervisor at the North-western University-Family Institute. Currently, she serves as the president of the Ohio University Graduate Student Senate (GSS), initiating discussions regarding graduate students’ financial difficulties and other issues that matter to graduate and international students.

Vice President: Amrit B. Thapa

Amrit is a fourth-year doctoral student of Curriculum and Instruction specializing in Mathematics Education. He is originally from the South Asian country, Nepal, the land of Mt. Everest and Gautam Buddha. Before coming to Ohio University for a Ph.D., he was a teacher, teacher educator, and education researcher for over a decade. He was the President of the Nepalese Student Association (NEPSA) from 2021-22. As President of NEPSA, he led the organization beyond cultural activities to professional development and community service. He initiated a 13-day program, "Virtual Advising via Telemedicine to Assist the COVID-19 Emergency in Nepal", in May-June 2021 to help people who did not have access to medical help due to the surge in infection rate.

Currently, he is a principal investigator of research being conducted and has received PCOE Graduate Student Research Fund. He has worked as an organizing team in a few seminars and has been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses. He believes in teamwork and aims to work towards creating avenues for all graduate and professional students to initiate programs that support well-being, professional development, and community service.

Treasurer: Abigail Nanayaa Otchill

Abigail Nanayaa is a Masters in Political Science and Certificate in War and Peace Studies student from Ghana. She obtained her bachelors from the University of Ghana and was the only one in her cohort funded by JASSO to study at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Prior to her studies in the United States, she worked as a teaching and research assistant at the University of Ghana and served as the Deputy Women’s Commissioner for UNISC Ghana, contributing to the promotion of the United Nations SDGs through educational exercises. 

Driven by her passion for contributing to the development of any society she finds herself in, she is an active member of the Athens City Council, where she handles the social media presence, among other duties on the Community Relations Commission. Considering herself a “forever student” and recognizing the importance of leadership, she currently serves as the Assistant Director of External Affairs of the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students (NAGPS). Additionally, she is the Treasurer of the Ohio University Graduate Student Senate (GSS), where she manages the organization’s financial affairs.

Nanayaa is passionate about humanitarianism and, as the Jenkins- King Award Recipient, ultimately aspires to be a public policy analyst and diplomat.