GPSO names grad student of the month

Francisco Parada, a doctoral student in neuroscience and psychology, was selected as the Graduate Student of the Month for December.

The award is given by the Graduate and Professional Student Organization and the graduate school, which selects a student to recognize each month.

Students are nominated by faculty and staff from within their department, said Angela Jones, GPSO communications coordinator.

“I think it is nice to receive recognition for the work you’re doing,” Parada said. “It doesn’t affect me at all because I really like what I am doing. I left my friends, my family, everything just to pursue this research career so I’m not here doing this for the awards or recognition. It is nice to see the department and whoever selects the winner recognizes the effort. It pushes me to actually keep working.”

The award is open to all graduate students nominated, and there are no specific requirements applicants must meet, Jones said.

“We try to leave it fairly broad because within each department, what makes an exemplary student can vary,” Jones said. “We encourage nominees who did something unique or something that deserves recognition beyond what the normal graduate student would do.”

Parada said he has only been in academia since 2007 because he was a full-time musician and had focused on his music career.

“Francisco did some really interesting research, and I think when we were looking at his application, throughout his career, he has really gone above and beyond to get to where he is today,” Jones said. “He studied music for a period of time, and it wasn’t until his mid-20s that he switched. He is a non-traditional student in that way. He is not the average kind of student that you might see.”