University of Arizona Graduate Student Council elects first African woman as president
The UA’s Graduate and Professional Student Council introduced its president for the following college 12 months on April 20.
Vanessa Macamo is a PhD candidate who arrived on the University of Arizona on a Fulbright Scholarship. She knew in regards to the GPSC as a scholar and determined to use for the presidency in 2026.
VIEW LARGER Vanessa Macamo arrives on the National Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC as half of a management program with the University of Arizona in March 2026.
Courtesy of Vanessa Macamo
“The role and the goal is really to work, to promote academic, economic, and social objectives to graduate professional students,” Macamo mentioned. “The goal is to see a graduating student flourishing in this environment that is the University of Arizona.”
The Graduate and Professional Student Council helps join, finance and help PhD and grasp’s college students and professionals on the University of Arizona. The scholar physique began in 1991when graduating college students had been on the lookout for higher rights for jobs and medical health insurance.
VIEW LARGER Students with the GSA (Graduate Student Association) collect in entrance of the University of Arizona Administration Building in 1990 or 1991.
Courtesy of Javier Duran
Javier Duran, a professor of Latin American and Border Studies, was among the many founders of the council.
“[In 1991] we were paying attention to those issues. And I think that was a huge factor to bring together what will become the GPSC in the future,” Duran mentioned.
By the mid Nineties, the GPSC was getting linked with different universities within the United States. Duran mentioned that different schools created their very own graduate scholar councils, influenced by the one on the University of Arizona.
On April 20, Vanessa Macamo, from Mozambique, was elected as its president.
“If I was able to do this, it means that someone after me that can see this can also think I can also do that. You know? And also I think this is an opportunity to shift the narrative,” Macamo mentioned.
She submitted all of the required supplies in early April, after which the scholars voted after one week of campaigning. According to the GPSC press launch of the election outcomes Macamo gained 361 to 60 votes, towards Aamir Quraishy.
VIEW LARGER Vanessa Macamo presents about management and mentorship as a GPSC candidate on April 4, 2026.
Courtesy of Vanessa Macamo
“When I passed [the U of A] these days, if I’m in the Food Pantry or in a classroom, people are coming to me like, ‘I voted for you.’ And diverse people. It’s beautiful. It’s wonderful,” Macamo said. “It means that people trust it. So, every vote, every message, every prayer reminds me that when we come together, we can open doors that once felt distant because we became a community.”
Similar to Duran, Macamo desires to construct extra transparency throughout the college students and school on the University of Arizona. Macamo will likely be sworn in on May 18 and his duties as president will begin for the 2026 and 2027 college years.
Nearly 34 years later Duran is grateful that the GPSC can fund journey and analysis for graduate college students.
VIEW LARGER Javier Duran holds a microphone at a GSA gathering earlier than the GPSC was created on the University of Arizona in 1990 or 1991.
Courtesy of Javier Duran
“GPSC’s mission is to make sure that the graduates are not only represented in the student government but also they have a claim in the right channels to make sure that the resources that are allocated for their benefit are properly dispersed,” Duran mentioned.
Other positions are nonetheless open for purposes for representatives in numerous schools.