Connecting with people is Nurit Katz’s passion, and her connections to UCLA run through her family.
She said her grandparents met at UCLA as students, her great uncles were the first twins to receive their UCLA doctorates in chemistry, and many of her relatives are UCLA graduates.
Now she is running for president of the Graduate Students Association.
While the Los Angeles native is appreciative of her family history, she said her father’s experience as a U.S. immigrant working in a book-binding factory has been most meaningful.
Katz said his experiences have taught her to appreciate the diversity that makes UCLA the perfect place for her to get in touch with all types of people.
“So much happens at UCLA. … It’s a vibrant, thriving place,” said Katz, a graduate student pursuing a joint masters degree in public policy and business administration.
Katz said if she is elected, she plans to work to create a sense of community among the different graduate departments.
“The university is huge,” she said. “People tend to work in silos and I hope to increase communication and give graduate students opportunities to interact and network.”
Katz said that if she is president, she will focus on connecting students from different departments through social events and programs.
She said she will also make students aware of the resources and opportunities GSA provides, and emphasized GSA’s role as a student organization and a voice for graduate students.
A large part of her plans are based online, including partnering with existing online resources to create a social network for graduate students. Katz wants to conduct an online survey about what students want to see from GSA.
“It’s important to get feedback from students and be responsive,” she said.
Katz’s goals also include helping to lobby against fee increases, and developing and promoting the recently created Graduate Writing Center and Graduate Student Resource Center.
Currently the director of the Sustainable Resource Center, Katz has served as a member of the GSA cabinet for two years. She has developed an online resource site, expanded a library in Kerckhoff, and produced education programs for graduate students interested in sustainability.
Jared Fox, former GSA president and current Associated Students UCLA board member, said Katz’s efforts have been instrumental to the success of the center, previously known as the Environmental Coalition.
“(She) does it basically by herself and it’s amazing what she can get done,” he said. “I think she’s really kind of superhuman in the way she can do so much.”
Many participants in Katz’s educational and networking programs said her work with the Sustainable Resource Center has helped them become more involved and knowledgeable.
“She has been really prevalent with helping me understand everything,” said J. Stephen Pollock, Anderson student government alumni chair. “She enables people, she leads people, and she connects people.”
Bonnie Foote, a graduate student in English, said the center was unique in the way it serves students.
“SRC … is the first official link that grad students interested in environment had with each other,” she said.
Additionally, Katz is a graduate student researcher at the UCLA Center for Research, Education, Training and Strategic Communication on Minority Health Disparities.
Katz has also worked with faculty and administrators to create a new interdisciplinary academic emphasis called Leaders in Sustainability.
“I see that there are a lot of problems in the world and I want to have a positive contribution,” Katz said.
“(It’s the) integration of everything I care about, which is why I think it’s so important.”