Food Science and Human Nutrition Graduate Student Association

About the FSHN Graduate Student Association (GSA)

Formally established in Fall 2021, the FSHN GSA is a registered student organization (RSO) within the FSHN department. The RSO is primarily composed of current graduate students in the department, but also supports undergraduate Food Science, Human Nutrition, and Dietetics majors, as well as undergraduate and graduate research assistants who are conducting research in FSHN laboratories.

The main goals of the FSHN GSA are to:

Provide support for academic success of graduate student members
Address the need for a social sphere in the department
Promote professional growth of all members, including undergraduate students

Have a question? Please contact us at: rso.fshngsa@msu.edu

FSHN GSA Executive Board

The FSHN GSA annually elects graduate student members to serve on the executive board. If you are interested in obtaining leadership experience or diversifying your CV, please consider contacting the GSA to obtain more information about applying to serve on the FSHN GSA Executive Board.

The following members were elected to serve on the board for the 2022-23 academic year:

Natasha Sloniker - Outgoing President

Diana Pacyga - Current President

Maria Kloboves - President Elect

Yawei Lin - Treasurer

Kelsi Morris - Secretary

Vanessa Cardino - Public Relations

Ankita Bhattacharya - External Affairs

Dr. Rita Strakovsky - Faculty Advisor (standing member)

Marcia Hardaker - Staff Advisor (standing member)

Natasha Sloniker

PhD Student in Food Science
sloniker@msu.edu

Diana Pacyga

PhD Student in Human Nutrition and Environmental Toxicology
pacygadi@msu.edu

Maria Kloboves

PhD Student in Human Nutrition and Environmental Toxicology
kloboves@msu.edu

Yawei Lin

MS Student in Food Science
linyawei@msu.edu

Kelsi Morris

PhD student in Human Nutrition and Environmental Toxicology
morrkel@msu.edu

Vanessa Cardino

PhD Student in Human Nutrition
cardinov@msu.edu

Ankita Bhattacharya

PhD Student in Food Science
bhatta59@msu.edu

Rita Strakovsky

Assistant Professor, Maternal Nutrition and Toxicology
strakovs@msu.edu
517-353-3352

Marcia Hardaker

Graduate Secretary
hardake1@msu.edu
517-353-3323

FSHN GSA Services

The FSHN GSA offers several services to FSHN graduate and undergraduate students. First and foremost, the FSHN GSA serves as the welcoming committee to new graduate students and helps individuals get settled into grad life on campus. The FSHN GSA also provides career support to members by sponsoring speakers for the departmental seminar series and serving as liaisons between students, faculty, and staff. To foster a sense of community among students, the FSHN GSA hosts monthly social events throughout the year, as well as attends events supported by MSU’s Graduate School and Council of Graduate Students, as well as those taking place in the East Lansing and Lansing community. Furthermore, the FSHN GSA offers various professional development events, including hosting a writing group and providing opportunities for students to practice their science communication at the Fall Trout Annual Lecture and Spring Awards Ceremony.

The FSHN GSA has some exciting events and opportunities planned for the current academic year, so keep a look out for our emails and follow the LinkedIn page to stay up-to-date.

GSA Tree Lighting 2021 — During Fall 2021, a group of graduate students attended the Lansing tree lighting event, Silver Bells in the City, which also included a holiday market and a drone show.

GSA Spring 2022 outing — On the last Friday of every month during the Spring 2022 semester, FSHN GSA hosted a lunch outing to one of the local restaurants featured by Guy Fieri on the hit Food Network show ‘Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives’. This photo was taken at Meat BBQ in Old Town Lansing!

GSA 1st Annual Research Forum Spring 2022 — The FSHN GSA hosted its first annual Research Forum at the 2022 Spring Awards Ceremony where undergraduate and graduate students had the opportunity to present posters of their research and earn cash prizes.

Monthly Faculty Features

During the Spring 2022 semester, the FSHN GSA started the monthly faculty feature where once a month, members sat down for a Q&A session with Food Science or Human Nutrition faculty members. See below for an example of one of our faculty feature newsletters!

GSA Monthly Faculty Feature