Plant Pathology Graduate Student Association

The Plant Pathology Graduate Student Association (PPGSA) is a departmental organization developed to act as a liaison between the graduate students and faculty, to assist in departmental functions, and to offer suggestions to the department head concerning the improvement of policies and procedures.

Group shot of the PPGSA

Special interests of the PPGSA are recruitment and orientation of new graduate students, improvement of facilities and curriculum, development of activities to improve the cohesiveness of the graduate student body within the department, and outreach to community groups. To address these objectives, the PPGSA is very involved in departmental events such as seminar and symposia speaker selection, hosting students recruited by the department, coordinating departmental academic and social events, and implementing programs to educate growers, extension agents, master gardeners, and students of all ages.

2022-2023 Graduate Student Association Officers

  • President/Chair – Andrea Gomez
  • Vice President/Co-chair – Lucas de Oliveira
  • Secretary & EGSA Representative – Roden Carlo Lizardo
  • Treasurer – Holly McInnes
  • Outreach Coordinator – Diana Ramirez Segovia
  • Seminar Chair  –  Juliet Ochola
  • Social Media & Social Chair –  May Wang
  • UGSA Representative  – Rajan Paudel

PPGSA Outreach Committee

The PPGSA outreach committee’s goal is to increase awareness of challenges in food production. We are dedicated to informing the community about agriculture, plant sciences, and tools we use to provide good food for all. We have presented information on plants and the pathogens that infect them to master gardeners, growers, and students of all ages. We also organize students to participate in BugFest and Triangle SciTech Expo at the Raleigh Museum of Natural Science. The outreach group was formed as a service to the community and to give current graduate students an opportunity to share their discipline with others.