{"id":5796,"date":"2026-06-11T15:55:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T19:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websites.emerson.edu\/grad-life\/?p=5796"},"modified":"2026-06-11T15:57:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T19:57:53","slug":"emerson-college-graduate-programs-spring-2026-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websites.emerson.edu\/grad-life\/2026\/06\/11\/emerson-college-graduate-programs-spring-2026-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"Emerson College Graduate Programs Spring 2026 Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Building Bridges: EmXchange Connects Emerson’s Graduate Students Across Programs and Modalities<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

EmXchange, the latest Graduate Student Organization, grew out of a fall 2024 meeting between the Transformational Leadership Fellows (TLF)<\/mark><\/strong><\/a> and former Graduate Student Representative Robin Van Impe. She had long wanted a way to connect grad students across Emerson College graduate programs. Second-year Fellow and Publishing and Writing<\/mark><\/strong><\/a> student, Lizzy DiGrande helped crystallize the idea. She realized that she and her classmate Alexis Newman, a Business of Creative Enterprises<\/mark><\/a> <\/strong>student, each had skills the other lacked. “Wouldn’t that be cool if we were able to collaborate and take some of your strengths and my strengths and see how it can benefit both of our careers.” DiGrande asked Newman. Those early conversations sparked even more creative thinking. Together DiGrande and other Fellows began exploring what kind of project they may want to tackle as a group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several brainstorming sessions led to a clear idea: a student-led organization designed to foster informal, peer-to-peer networking across all grad programs, both on-campus and remote. EmXchange’s first meeting drew over thirty students online \u2013 a strong turnout for a brand-new GSO.  As a result, leadership stays fresh and innovative, bringing new ideas each academic year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Low-Pressure Approach to Grad Student Networking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What sets EmXchange apart is its intentionally low-pressure approach. Unlike formal Career Development Center<\/mark><\/a><\/strong> programming, it prioritizes casual community-building. First-year TLF Fellows serve as co-chairs, while second-year Fellows advise. This democratic structure allows for leadership to be innovative and come up with fresh ideas each academic year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First-year Fellow Jeff Pagliano, a Theatre Education and Applied Theatre<\/mark><\/a><\/strong> student, notes that building community among grad students is uniquely challenging. Differences in age, family commitments, and career stage can make connection harder. Even so, he sees real common ground. Graduate students are “all curious, they all understand creativity, they understand storytelling,\u201d and EmXchange is designed to tap into exactly that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dean’s Award Recipient May 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Asya Partan
MFA, Creative Writing<\/mark><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Asya Partan\u2019s unique experiences as an immigrant, an entrepreneur, and a mother helped fuel her love of storytelling. She connects with others through the written word. These experiences and her innate creativity eventually led her to share her talents and hone her voice as an MFA candidate in the Emerson College Creative Writing<\/mark><\/a><\/strong> program. Her nonfiction and essay writing has been published in The Boston Globe<\/em>, The Rumpus<\/em>, WBUR’s Cognoscenti<\/em>, Pangyrus<\/em>, and Design Museum Magazine<\/em>, to name a few. She has also participated as a storyteller at Stories from the Stage and the Association of Writers & Writing Programs reading at their 2026 conference. Below are Asya\u2019s responses to a few questions we asked to get to know her even better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations, Asya, on all your accomplishments and we can\u2019t wait to see what the future holds for you! <\/p>\n\n\n