(2020-2021 GSC and Division Reps)

AERA is committed to capacity building for & nurturing of future education researchers. AERA is home to more than 7,000 student members, including approximately 6,500 graduate students and 500 undergraduate students.  Students represent over 28% of all AERA members. 

AERA offers a rich array of programs and services for students through its divisions, special interest groups, and the Graduate Student Council, a standing committee of the Association.  Students interested in exploring opportunities in professional development, mentoring, and networking are strongly encouraged to puruse websites of divisions, special interest groups, and the Graduate Student Council for details. 

Join the AERA Graduate Student Listserv!  Keep up to date on happenings and conversations with AERA graduate students around the country.

Dre Abeita, #CoyoteWalking, #RealLifeIsletaPuebloSuperhero

Chair, 2021-2022 AERA Graduate Student Council

Ph.D. Candidate, University of New Mexico (UNM)

Happy June #OurGlobalAERAGSCFamily,

On behalf of the AERA GSC, as Chair, I, Dre Abeita, #CoyoteWalking in this World (Abeita, 2021), #RealLifeIsletaPuebloSuperHero and #ModernDayRevolutionary would like to extend a warm welcome to my sisters, brothers, and non-binary siblings, aka. our wonderful international graduate student community-turned-family. As an Indigenous (Isleta), Two-Spirited, bisexual, multiple-trauma survivor, PTSD-diagnosed, second-generation college graduate, medical marijuana researcher/advocate and critical race theory, whiteness, intersectional activist/scholar, I represent the hopes, sacrifices and dreams of my ancestors.

As a Native American, my community continues to survive and thrive despite the dehumanizing realties of colonialization. I stand testimony to the resiliency of all our peoples from around the world, who in the face of impossible odds, rise and overcome.

My history of community and professional experiences includes over 15 years of community organizing, 12 years teachings (four years in K-12, eight in higher education), four years of experience leading graduate student organizations, multiple experiences with conference planning, a total of 26 leadership/institutional service roles and an additional 31 conference and/or invited presentations. As a rising 9^th year doctoral candidate at the University of New Mexico, I pledge to use my skills, networks and experiences to lead AERA GSC, the largest, most influential, and powerful graduate student organization in the world, towards becoming a powerhouse of student advocacy, agency, and voice.  

Together, we are going to defy the stereotype that student government is just for resume building. With your help, AERA GSC is going to become a global community that centers the needs, experiences, and academic contributions of its graduate student members, turned family.

We seek to honor and respect all of our varying cultural heritages, languages, perspectives, identities, and communities by starting a movement. Together with your support, AERA GSC is deliberately starting a culture shift from American ethnocentrism to a more humanizing global perspective based on inclusivity, with a mindfulness regarding space and voice.

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