GSLMU | Gabrielle Szlachta-McGinn ’21 was elected the next GSLMU student body president, and Taina Rodriguez-Berardi ’21, the next vice president, on Friday, April 3, 2020, by Loyola Marymount University students. This was an exciting election year for GSLMU as graduate student government reaches the end of its eighth year since it was founded and the third year where there was a contested race for president. Voter turnout was 8 percent in GSLMU’s first all-virtual election.
Szlachta-McGinn, who is completing a degree from Loyola Law School and is from Philadelphia, ran to increase graduate student involvement and participation with the greater community. “My first year in law school was very rewarding for me, but I did not necessarily feel that engaged with LMU,” said Szlachta-McGinn. “After I joined GSLMU and got to be part of a team that was actively working hard to support graduate students, it really inspired me to keep going. My involvement in GSLMU not only allowed me an opportunity to voice my own concerns and to advocate for other students. GSLMU had such a positive impact on me, and I hope that I can encourage as many graduate students as possible to get involved as I did.”
Szlachta-McGinn will be the chief editor of the IACHR Project for the International and Comparative Law Review. As a self-described non-traditional law student who left the workforce to attend law school, she plans to put her extensive time-management experience to work to lead GSLMU. “GSLMU is a truly collaborative student effort, and I feel very passionate about ensuring that all graduate students can voice concerns, opinions and interests that their student representatives can then bring to the forefront of development,” said Szlachta-McGinn.
Moving to Los Angeles to begin her academic career at LMU Law School is when Szlachta-McGinn, finally felt comfortable and confident. “I really wanted to get to know the greater Los Angeles community, and I started volunteering at a shelter and attending as many local events outside of the immediate law school community as I could to connect with others,” said Szlachta-McGinn. “I met so many talented and passionate people from all walks of life, many of whom were Loyola grads! I can’t think of a single LMU graduate that I met who wasn’t still eager and willing to help me in any way that he or she could, and that really stuck with me.”
Rodriguez-Berardi, who is completing a master’s degree in Yoga Studies and is from Oakland, California, ran because she wanted to be more actively involved in cultivating her educational experience. “As a graduate student in Yoga Studies, I am blessed to be able to focus on my studies in a way I was never afforded before,” said Rodriguez-Berardi. After completing her undergraduate degree as a first-generation student and an MBA program while holding a demanding leadership role at her company, she said she is ready to “take advantage of all the collegiate environment has to offer return share my knowledge and experience to help others who might also be struggling with issues connecting to campus and maximizing their student experience.”
Rodriguez-Berardi works as a graduate assistant for Yoga Studies and the LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts communications team. She also is a Rains research assistant for Professor Tracy Tiemeier. She also helped to organize LMU Yoga Day, an annual celebration of the yoga tradition, experience and its many expressions. “I also facilitate the digital learning experience for our online students who join our weekly classes from all around the world,” said Rodriguez-Berardi.
For Rodriguez-Berardi, her inspiration comes from the privilege of learning from an all-female faculty group during her first year at LMU, including Nirinjan Khalsa, interim director of Yoga Studies, Lecturer Karen Muldoon-Hules, and Professors Lori Rubenstein Fazzio and Tiemeier.