The UA’s Graduate and Professional Student Council announced its president for the next school year on April 20.
Vanessa Macamo is a PhD candidate who arrived at the University of Arizona on a Fulbright Scholarship. She knew about the GPSC as a student and decided to apply for the presidency in 2026.
VIEW LARGER Vanessa Macamo arrives at the National Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C. as part of a leadership program with the University of Arizona in March 2026. Courtesy of Vanessa Macamo
“The role and the goal is really to work, to promote academic, economic, and social aims to graduate professional students,” Macamo said. “The goal is to see a graduate student flourishing in this environment that is the University of Arizona.”
The Graduate and Professional Student Council helps connect, finance and support PhD and master’s students and professionals at the University of Arizona. The student body started in 1991, when graduate students were looking for better rights for jobs and health insurance.
VIEW LARGER Students with the GSA (Graduate Student Association) gather in front of the University of Arizona Administration Building in 1990 or 1991. Courtesy of Javier Duran
Javier Duran, a professor of Latin American and Border Studies, was among the founders of the council.
“[In 1991] we were paying attention to those issues. And I think that was a huge factor to bring together what will become the GPSC in the future,” Duran said.
By the mid 1990s, the GPSC was getting connected with other universities in the United States. Duran said that other colleges created their own graduate student councils, influenced by the one at the University of Arizona.
On April 20, Vanessa Macamo, from Mozambique, was elected as its president.
“If I was able to do this, it means that someone after me that can see this can also think I can also do that. You know? And also I think this is an opportunity to shift the narrative,” Macamo said.
She submitted all the required materials in early April, and then the students voted after one week of campaigning. According to the GPSC press release of the election results Macamo won 361 to 60 votes, against Aamir Quraishy.
VIEW LARGER Vanessa Macamo presents about leadership and mentorship as a GPSC candidate on April 4, 2026. Courtesy of Vanessa Macamo
“When I pass [the U of A] these days, if I’m in the Food Pantry or in a classroom, people are coming to me like, ‘I voted for you.’ And diverse people. It’s beautiful. It’s wonderful,” Macamo said. “It means that people trust it. So, every vote, every message, every prayer reminds me that when we come together, we can open doors that once felt distant because we became a community.”
Similar to Duran, Macamo wants to build more transparency within the students and faculty at the University of Arizona. Macamo will be sworn in on May 18 and her duties as president will start for the 2026 and 2027 school years.
Nearly 34 years later Duran is grateful that the GPSC can fund travel and research for graduate students.
VIEW LARGER Javier Duran holds a microphone at a GSA gathering before the GPSC was created at the University of Arizona in 1990 or 1991. Courtesy of Javier Duran
“GPSC’s mission is to make sure that the graduates are not only represented in the student government but also they have a claim in the right channels to make sure that the resources that are allocated for their benefit are properly dispersed,” Duran said.
Other positions are still open for applications for representatives in different colleges.
