About Us – Council of Graduate Students

Our Mission

The Council of Graduate Students is the authorized student government on campus representing all graduate/professional students at Michigan State University. Our mission is to promote the academic, social and economic goals of graduate and professional students.

COGS accomplishes its mission through advocacy, innovative programming, and collaboration with other student organizations and the academic and administrative units of the University.

Have a question for any of the Eboard members? Please email them at: office@cogs.msu.edu

Our EBoard

Hannah Jeffery

she/her/hers - President

Hannah Jeffery is currently pursuing her PhD in Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology in the department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences. Her research focuses on the genetic and environmental control of cooking time in common beans. She was the representative for her graduate student organization, ACRS, for two years, led an initiative to donate leftover food to nearby food kitchens, and has served as a committee member on several academic conferences.

Samara Chamoun

she/her/hers - Vice President of Internal Affairs

Samara Chamoun is a fifth year Ph.D. student in the department of Mathematics at MSU, with specialization in Control Theory and Sweeping Process. An international student from Lebanon, she earned a master‘s degree in Applied and Computational Mathematics and bachelor’s degree in Pure Mathematics in Lebanon,

"Education and Professional development opportunities are strong passions of mine, as I am always trying to find ways to grow as an educator and a person. In my free time, I enjoy reading, writing, and visiting new places (and recently painting)."

Harkirat Kaur

she/her/hers - Vice President of External Affairs

Harkirat is a fourth year PhD candidate in Crop and Soil Science. I work on understanding the plant and pathogen interactions in corn to strategize economically and environmentally sustainable management practices to improve the quality of crop and profitability of growers. Before getting elected to serve on the e-board, I was the Plant Soil and Microbial sciences representative for a year. Going forward, I wish to work as a crop scientist to be involved in developing biological control methods and promote integrated pest management strategies for field crops.

Miles Roberts

he/him/his - Treasurer

Miles is a second year PhD student in the Genetics and Genome Sciences program. His research focuses on the population genetics of plants and the evolution of gene expression. Before becoming Treasurer, Miles represented the Genomics program at COGS meetings for a year. He hopes to eventually have a career working in biotechnology.

Semiha Kevser Bali

she/her/hers - Recording Secretary

Semiha is a Doctoral student in the department of Chemistry.

Bismarck Kyei Amaniampong

he/him/his - Parliamentarian

Bismarck is a Doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry and served as the 22-23 COGS Recording Secretary and chair of the Graduate Academic Conference.

Alexis Wooldridge

she/her/hers - Director of Event Planning

Alexis Wooldridge is in her final year of law school. She is interested in family law, Veterans Affairs, and prosecution. Alexis also currently serves as President of the First-Generation Students at MSU Law, Executive Editor on the Animal and Natural Resource Law Review, Fundraising Chair of the Women’s Law Caucus, and Co-Lead Bluebook Peer Mentor.

Rachael Pyram

she/her/hers - Director of Equity and Anti-Discrimination (DoEA)

Rachael is a Doctoral student in Organizational Psychology. She graduated from the University of South Florida with a dual-bachelors degree in Statistics and Psychology. She studies organizational social network dynamics within the context of workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues, but notably her research has focused on allyship..

Darwyn Howard

she/her/hers - Medical Schools Liaison

Darwyn Howard is a second year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine candidate, with emphasis on small animal and exotic animal medicine. In her spare time, she works as a small animal veterinary technician. Prior to moving to Michigan, I earned a Bachelors of Science at the University of Florida. In addition to COGS, Darwyn also serves the Council of Medical Students as the CVM representative.

Law School Liaison

Law Liaison

Pending appointment

Dr. Matt Wawrzynksi

Faculty Advisor to COGS

Matthew Wawrzynski, Ph.D., is professor of higher, adult, and lifelong education. His research integrates non-cognitive measures and the collegiate environment with college student outcomes.