Introducing New GSA President | Samantha Brandt

Hood MBA student, Samantha Brandt, is the new Graduate Student Association (GSA) President. Samantha is also a Hood ALTY scholar as she completed her undergraduate studies in Biology at Hood College.

Samantha Brandt, Hood GSA President

Program

Business Administration (MBA)
Biology (B.A.)

Department

The George B. Delaplaine Jr. School of Business

Graduate School
Graduate Student

Academics
Student Life
Student Engagement
Natural Sciences
Business

08/19/2020

"It is my goal to keep all graduate students engaged with campus life. Instead of doing regular in-person meetups, my executive team and I will work together to plan virtual happy hours and virtual meet and mingle Zoom sessions."

Could you please share a bit about your professional/educational background?

I am a Hood College alumna. I did my undergraduate degree in Biology with a minor in Business Administration.

I am currently in the Master of Business Administration program. For the past year I have been working for Leidos as a technical assistant on three different contracts.

As a returning alum, what do you like the most about Hood College? Why did you decide to start your Masters’ journey at Hood?

I love Hood’s atmosphere. I have met my lifelong friends here. My experience has been amazing, from great coaches, faculty, to wonderful staff.

I love the fact that I am not just a number at Hood. I have a special bond with all of my professors. All of these awesome people have helped to push me into becoming the best version of myself the past four years and will continue to do the same while I am in graduate school.

Why did you decide to apply for the Hood College GSA President position?

I decided to apply to be the Hood GSA President because I love to connect with new people and help them feel comfortable.

As an undergrad, I was able to experience being a Resident Assistant and a captain on the lacrosse team. These experiences allowed me to connect and feel apart of something bigger than myself.

Being a part of Hood’s outstanding community for the past four years truly motivated me to expand my leadership skills into my graduate career.

By applying to be the GSA president I feel that I am still involved in the campus community life, connecting to my fellow peers across Hood’s unique and close-knit community.

What will you do differently and what new initiatives will you implement in the upcoming year?

Due to the new conditions on Hood’s campus, it will be easy to feel disconnected from the community.

It is my goal to keep all graduate students engaged with campus life. Instead of doing regular in-person meetups, my executive team and I will work together to plan virtual happy hours and virtual meet and mingle Zoom sessions.

I want everyone to feel like one community not separate departments on the same campus.

What would you like to say to our current graduate students?

Though this might not be our typical start to the semester I hope to see you all at our virtual happy hours or meet and mingles.

I am hoping to bring some ‘normalization’ back into your lives.

If you have any questions, concerns, or outstanding ideas please reach out to me or someone on the executive board at gsa@hood.edu.

Inspired by Samantha's journey to #GOFURTHER in your education and career? Visit our programs including the MBA program, and click here to get additional information.