8 Things We Love About Our Graduate Students

We love our graduate students! They are interesting, brilliant, and compassionate people who make our lives exciting.

For Valentine's Day, we made some cards to show you what we love about our graduate students.

1. They know a lot of stuff and that’s pretty cool.

Our students come ready to create knowledge that will advance their fields of study and change our world. They’re doing research for many reasons!

2. They keep our lives interesting.

We love getting to know our grad students! Applicants and current students call and visit the Graduate School each and every day. Sometimes they come in to share their latest research and accomplishments and other times to ask for help. Whatever the reason, we’re happy to see them.

3. Their diverse interests and backgrounds.

Our grad students come from all over the world, and they bring their unique passions and experiences with them. We all learn so much from each other.

4. Their drive and ambition inspire us.

Our students have such incredible work ethic and excitement for the future. We love seeing them reach their goals and don their graduation gowns at commencement—it’s one of our favorite days of the year!

5. Their contributions to our scholarly and welcoming community.

They’re willing to help out their colleagues and mentor one another. They share their personal and professional triumphs with us and with each other.

6. They embrace the local culture and share their own cultures.

It’s not uncommon to see our grad students enjoying all that Lafayette has to offer, from food to festivals to the arts scene and local events. But they also work to share with the city, too, with pop-up dinners highlighting their own cuisines, starting Lafayette’s own TEDxVermilionStreet, and even establishing the widely popular annual Holi celebration.

7. They become involved alumni.

Our grad school alumni live across the globe, but they never hesitate to support the grad school’s advancement by paying it forward. They return to campus to give talks, help with the internship and career search, and fund some of our most important initiatives.

8. Their growth and transformation.

We love watching our grad students transform from wide-eyed, nervous rookies at orientation into highly-capable and confident experts as they submit their theses and dissertations—and we love helping them get to graduation.