Dear UA Graduate and Professional Students and the UA Community, 

In June, I penned a guest column “The Summer of Sunlight,” outlining budget challenges the Graduate and Professional Student Council faces in 2016-17.

I shared our goal of transparency.

With our budget discussion and budget vote set to conclude on September 13, I wanted to update you on GPSC’s budget and goals.

GPSC will be able to offer approximately 300 fewer Travel Grants than last year and our overall budget will be $150,000 less than last year. You will still have funding opportunities, they will just be more competitive.

We will have $175,000 in travel grant funding, $60,000 in research and project funding, $100,000 in childcare grants, and $15,000 in club funding. Beyond budgets, GPSC has open seats that will be available during our special election to take place from September 21-22.

I urge you to consider serving on GPSC. We need your voice, your vision, and your energy. We need your brains, your leadership, your desire to serve your colleagues and your ability to cooperate with other GPSC representatives for the good of 9,500 UA graduate and professional students. We need YOU to improve GPSC. We need YOU to lead GPSC for its next 25 years.

This year, like every year, our advocacy goals remain constant: lower fees and tuition, improved childcare and healthcare, and of course, improved compensation levels, better workload rates and a more inclusive campus. This year the UA, along with Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University, will come together to consider bids from insurance companies who would like our business. Get involved and ask questions to your GPSC representatives about the kind of health care insurance you have and you want to have.

RELATED: Letter to the Editor: GPSC to lead a ‘summer of sunlight’

Speaking of health, it is normal to need to see a doctor regarding your physical health during your stressful graduate studies. And it may be just as normal to seek out mental health services. Two years ago, GPSC conducted a survey and found that graduate and professional students overwhelmingly report that their sleep, exercise, diet and mental health worsen during the course of their studies. Fortunately, Campus Health Service offers counseling services at Counseling and Psych Services. Remember to look out for each other. It is normal to feel all sorts of strains and stress whilst working abnormally hard.

Finally, I would like to say Thank You, Thank You, Thank You and Thank You.

Four times, you voted for me to be the graduate and professional student body president at the UA. Serving the graduate and professional students from all over the world who study in 16 colleges has been a special and unique privilege. I may never have the fortune of representing so many people I admire again.

I will resign as the graduate and professional student body president effective September 27, 2016.

This isn’t easy because of the absolute joy I get from serving as your president.

Tell me that the most hardened critic cannot get excited about being in a room full of future doctors, lawyers, nurse practitioners, engineers, professors and professionals of every background. I won’t believe you.

Tell me you don’t get thrilled rubbing shoulders with the truly gifted and the hardest working people you will ever meet. I won’t believe you.

Tell me you can remain a cynic with so many beautiful minds. I won’t believe you.

It makes me want to get a BBQ.

During my time with GPSC, we have been able to increase our travel grant funding, launch the research and project grant, increase childcare grant funding and sign two memorandum of understanding’s, which strengthened our role on campus and in the community.

We have grown our events and have made a quantitative and qualitative impact on the lives of those we serve. Despite our success, our goals to increase compensation levels have not been as successful.

Now, it is your turn. The UA has 10 top 10 and 20 top 20 programs in the U.S. and it is a top 100 university in the world because of YOU. GPSC will continue to serve the graduate and professional students of UA because of YOU. If it does not, it is your right and duty to demand that GPSC reflects your values and struggles.

I believe the best is yet to come.

—Zachary S. Brooks

Graduate and Professional Student Body President

To Tom, Linda, Chris, Shaun, Mahmoud;

To Javier, Ngawang, Alex, Jason, Kirsten, Amanda, Jani, Peter, Elaine, Paul, Catherine, Stephen David, Emily, Roeland, Sarah, and Anita;

To James, Katy, Morgan, Issac, Manuel, and Michael;

To Chris, Chrissy, Cody, Claudia, Janis, Jill, and Alexei;

To Ryan, Joon-Boom, Jessica, November, Robert, Chris, and Megan;

To Alexis, Cassie, Heidi, Jennifer, Ezra, Jenna, Clarissa!!!;

To Vin, Meg Lota, John, and Gary;

To Alexandra, Lauren, Kate, Samantha, Wei-Ren, Stephanie, Jessie, Ashley;

To Melissa, Kendal, Kasey;

To Andrew, Andrew, Anne, and Cynthia;

To Greg, John, Amy, Skip, Melinda, David, Laura, Gail, Thomas, Karen, Allison, and Mike;

To Shane, Marc, Mary, Joaquin, JP, Ron, Jeffrey, James;

To Shay, Tim, Ethan, and Shannon;

To Alex, Justin, and the GSOC crew;

To my fellow Wasatch Junior High Graduate in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ann;

To Mariia, Jim, Elaine, Jasmine, Jude, Marquez, and Daniel;

To Jared, Rachel, Eddie, Rudy, Jill, and Joy;

To Lynsey, Cameron, Kevin, Jared, Joni, Janelle, and Yan;

To Emily, Deya, Isoken;

To Sam, Kris, Hallie, Dwayne, Peta, Melody, Patrick, Brandon, Neleen, Mark, Alicia;

To Anthony, Ben, Piper; Jason; Brenda, and NAU!

To Kian, Alan, Iman, Juhyung;

To Rhian, German, Pauline, Andy, and especially Megan (ASU J) … Thank You.

To Shayna, Patrick, and Michael;

To Bonnie, Linda, Cat and all of SLAT;

To anyone and everyone I may have forgotten to thank,

Bear Down, Bear Down, Bear Down, Bear Down