The College of Graduate Studies and Research (CGS&R) held another grad student coffee and chat on Tuesday, April 25 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. The chat was held in the upstairs room of The Crib. 

Each month of the fall and winter semester, CGS&R has held a grad and coffee chat at The Crib, in order to give graduate students a place to meet and chat over their drink of choice. Graduate students were offered the space to get together with fellow graduates and discuss how the semester has been going for them. 

The grad coffee and chats offer a space to find connection, Assistant Director of Graduate Student Affairs, Janelle Taylor said. 

“Being a grad student often means sitting and listening to instruction and being engaged in high level work at all times,” Taylor said. “Coffee and chats give them space to talk and process.” 

The organization process for the event consisted of planning for a space and deciding a time. The CGS&R reserves a space for the event to take place, and then informs graduate students in order to invite them to the chat. 

According to their website, CGS&R makes an effort to maintain an environment that “nurtures academic and personal growth and respects a diversity of ideas.” Along with their coffee and chats, they also host a variety of workshops in order to better benefit their students. While many of their other events, such as the diversity, equity and inclusivity across all fields event, acted as a presentation workshop. The grad coffee and chats act as open discussion workshops. 

The coffee and chats were started due to the graduate students requesting low stress events with less structure. The event was open to all NMU graduate students and the College of Graduate Studies picked up the tab for attendants drinks. 

There is no agenda, no audience and no presenter at the chat, Taylor said. 

“It’s just people checking in with each other and talking about what being a grad student at Northern is like this month,” Taylor said. “At the beginning everyone is quiet, but by the end of the hour, we have too much to talk about and have to wrap up conversations on the way out the door.”