Balancing Books

Fardin Aryan is a student in the Molecules, Cells, and Organisms Program and serves as treasurer of the Harvard Griffin GSAS Student Council (GSC). He talks about funding graduate programming, managing the responsibilities of student government, and the joys of being an important part of the campus community. 

Doing Good 

Before becoming treasurer for the GSC, I was the council’s representative to the graduate student union. In the last open meeting of the 2023–2024 year, we talked about open positions that needed to be filled. One of them was treasurer. I talked to the outgoing treasurer and felt reassured that I could handle the responsibilities, so I took on the role.  

Image

Fardin Aryan is a student in the Molecules, Cells, and Organisms Program and serves as treasurer of the Harvard Griffin GSAS Student Council.

The biggest responsibility I have is drafting the annual budget at the beginning of the academic year. I have to present the budget to the GSC finance committee and then to the full council at the year’s first meeting, where it’s voted on. If the budget isn’t approved, we have no funding for departmental student groups and individuals who apply for conference grants and other support. 

Once we have a budget, there are different funding cycles for programs and projects. Throughout the year, I meet with the finance committee to go through applications and decide what to support. We’re responsible for funding lots of different activities—for example, a dragon boat club, a gamer’s guild, and professional development for individuals.  

As I started to transition into this role, I began to appreciate all the good work that goes into student government behind the scenes to make things run smoothly. It’s work that matters; you can see all the student organizations and individuals who benefit from it. As treasurer, I get to do a lot of good for Harvard graduate students. 

Sharing the Load 

I’m a second-year PhD student currently doing research on hepatitis B. I focus on the structure of the virus, specifically on an RNA section called the epsilon (ε) region, which plays a crucial role in hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication. By gaining a better understanding of this region, we could develop targeted therapies to disrupt its role in HBV replication within human cells. 

Balancing my academics and my work on the GSC is challenging but doable. My research is intensive. As treasurer, I attend a lot of meetings and events and I have plenty of other responsibilities. Everyone juggles their work differently, but what makes it easier for me is having a team of people who are understanding and willing to share the load. The Student Center Squad especially understands that our first responsibility is to our research. Having their support makes the work go much more smoothly. 

Staying Involved 

I like being involved in my community. I always have. I was part of the student association in community college before coming to graduate school. That work felt important. It also made me feel like I was part of what was going on at the institution.  

When I came to Harvard, I was determined to focus only on my research. I knew it was going to be intense, and I didn’t know if I could handle anything outside of the lab, so my idea was to keep my head down, do the work, and get out as soon as possible. But I’m just not that type of person. Making a difference and having an impact is worthwhile, and the GSC’s work really does make students’ lives better. Beyond that impact, what keeps me going are the people who come to the open meetings and serve on the GSC board. The experience of working with them makes this role worthwhile.