Alexandra Marakhovskaia, Pharmacology and Toxicology

In the end of 2019 I applied for SGS fund to organize Mental Health Workshops and the application was approved. We are looking forward to these seminars that will take place during Fall 2020, current circumstances permitting.

What is leadership for me?
No one’s path is the same and we are here to help and guide each other through it. Many of us had great teachers that provided support and direction, answered our questions, and helped us to understand our strengths.

Academic career and scientific research are very attractive for young and smart people, however, going through it alone can be a challenging task. I believe it’s important for students to help each other. We all have different talents that can complement each other. I strongly believe that competitive environment is not the best way to promote productive work, in my opinion, collaboration and cooperation help people being creative and happier overall. Unfortunately, a great number of grad students face challenging life circumstances, that might affect their mental health. I am one of them.

My dream and objective is to find a way to bring guidance and support to as many people as possible that happen to be in similar circumstances as me. We often do not know what is right, what is the best way to lead our lives and careers, but it might be easier to figure it out together. Having someone you can trust and rely on can make this phase of your life more enjoyable and rewarding. I believe that graduate students deserve to have control over their professional development and in order to achieve that, I want to do the best I can to improve the graduate student’s well-being and guide them to a career they want to pursue.