Annual Meeting Activities 

GRC members plan different SFS conference events with the goals of increasing community development and aiding in fundraising to support student fellowships and activities.

GRC Committee Meeting & Lunch

All graduate students interested in becoming GRC delegates and/or officers are invited to attend the annual GRC lunch. This lunch is a great opportunity to learn about ongoing and new GRC activities, elect new GRC officers, and meet SFS graduate students.

Please see the annual conference schedule for the date, time, and location of this year’s GRC Lunch.

GRC Workshop

Every year GRC members develop and conduct a workshop for graduate students. Workshops are focused on professional development and/or topics in aquatic ecology that are specific to conference locations.

View the upcoming workshop and past GRC workshops.

Student-Mentor Mixer

The SFS Annual Student-Mentor Mixer is designed to facilitate interactions between students and experienced professionals from a variety of benthos-related careers.

The planning committee asks students to register online with their conference registration so that we can plan for enough food/space and provide students with a drink ticket specific to this event. If professionals would like to serve as mentors for this event, please email the Student-Mentor Mixer Committee at nabs.student.mentor.mixer@gmail.com.

Please see the annual conference schedule for the date, time, and location of this year’s Student-Mentor Mixer.

Auctions

All funds raised from the live and silent auctions go to the SFS Endowment, which serves as the source for research and travel awards presented to SFS student members.

Silent Auction

Silent auction books and bidding sheets will be displayed on tables at a central location during annual SFS conferences.

If you have recently published a book and would like to contribute to this year's auction please contact us via e-mail or bring your book to the meeting. If you are a graduate student and plan on attending this year's meeting, we would like to challenge you to bring a book from your university or region, or maybe even from your favorite publishing professor.

For further information, or to donate, please contact a silent auction coordinator.

Live Auction

The live auction takes place one evening during the conference week. If you are interested in donating items or assisting with the live auction, please contact a live auction coordinator.

SFS Merchandise

The GRC sells a number of items such as t-shirs and water bottles at the annual meeting each year. All money raised from selling merchandise (new and old) provides the GRC with general operating funds. Most of these proceeds help fund the Student-Mentor Mixer, assist with additional costs of workshops, and support undergraduate travel awards.