The inaugural Graduate Student Development Program, GradUcon, held Friday, Jan. 22 in Ida Noyes Hall, offered a discussion forum and access to experts to graduate students who are planning careers and managing the personal, academic and professional aspects of their lives. GradUcon featured an afternoon of expert panels, covering topics from academic jobs, to planning for a PhD, to work–life balance, and provided development resources. Working and studying in a range of fields, the expert panelists were Chicago alumni, faculty and staff members and current graduate students who offered diverse perspectives. Anne Brody, Staff Clinical Psychologist for Student Counseling Resource Services (left to right), Suzanne Conzen, Associate Professor of Hematology/Oncology in Medicine, and Lizanne Phalen, Manager of the Family Resource Center, head up the panel discussion on work–life balance issues and what to expect when trying to balance parenthood and graduate studies.
