Larissa Charnsangavej
Larissa Charnsangavej

Greetings, Graduate Community!

I’m Larissa Charnsangavej and I am so excited to join the Graduate Division as its first Graduate Student Life Coordinator.

My commitment is to support graduate students around issues that affect their well-being — such as health education and wellness, housing, parenting support, and community-building — and to help create a more inclusive community for all students.

My goal is to help students feel that Berkeley is the right fit for them, by coordinating more opportunities for engagement and advocating for the unique needs of graduate students on this many-faceted campus. I will represent the Graduate Division on various campus committees to address graduate student needs and work hand-in-hand with campus partners in the Graduate Assembly, Student Affairs, and myriad other units that offer services to students.

My own educational background includes earning a B.S. in Bioengineering from Rice University and a M.Ed. in Student Affairs from UCLA. I come to Berkeley from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where I advised graduate student organizations, oversaw residence advisors, and created and implemented professional, educational, and social development initiatives specifically for graduate student communities. Some of the events I helped plan there include a mental health resources fair and an upcoming joint graduate student-faculty colloquium to discuss such issues as advising, mentorship, and campus climate. I hope to bring some of those ideas and experiences here.

Please feel welcome to come see me in 318 Sproul Hall, call me at 642-4071, or write me at [email protected]. I look forward to working with you to build a stronger and ever more vibrant graduate community at Berkeley!

Cheers,
Larissa