Graduate Student Johayra Diaz Named to NASPA Graduate Associate Program Cohort

Out of a pool of hundreds of applications, 86 students were chosen to be part of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Graduate Associate Program (GAP). Johayra Diaz, graduate student in Educational Leadership Higher Education (ELHE), is one of the selected students for GAP’s second cohort.

As a Graduate Associate (GA), Diaz is responsible for participating in monthly conference calls and virtual meetings with the cohort and Associate Director. She will also reach out to new NASPA members and serve as a contact for peers and new members in their respective regions. Additionally, GAs will coordinate events and curate content for their social media accounts, such as Instagram and Twitter.

For Diaz, this is not her first leadership position while being a part of the ELHE program. She served as the Social Justice Chair for the ELHE Council under the supervision of Sherlene Ayala and was responsible for events centered around social justice and diversity. She led an event called “Know Your Rights,” which was in partnership with the Wind and Spirit Immigrant Resource Center of New Jersey.

This year, Diaz is President for the new Alpha Iota Chapter of Chi Sigma Alpha Student Affairs Honor Society International while simultaneously serving as the Academic Chair on the ELHE Council. She also presented at the EOF 50th Anniversary Fall Conference and the Rutgers Excellence in Student Affairs conference with fellow students Natalie Lopez, Evelyn De Jesus-Quiles, and Chelsea Rushing. In addition to being a student, Diaz is President of the Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Incorporated – Alpha Omega Alumnae Chapter and works in the CEHS Student Success Center.

Diaz anticipates a Spring 2020 graduation and hopes to work as an Academic Advisor in higher education.