Membership: What's your story

This column invites ASA, CSSA, and SSSA members to talk about their personal experiences with the Societies. Every member has a story. What’s yours? We’d love to hear from you. Email Send Message.

Carlos Bonini Pires

I became aware of ASA, CSSA, and SSSA in 2018 when I joined Kansas State University as a visiting scholar from Brazil. After I attended the 2019 Annual Meeting in San Diego, I wanted to engage more with the Societies, so I became a member. When I became a Ph.D. candidate at K-State and increased my engagement as a Society member, I served on the ASA, CSSA, and SSSA Graduate Student Committee and SSSA 2024 Program Planning Taskforce.

There are countless benefits to being a member and attending the Annual Meeting. As chair of the Graduate Student Networking Session for the 2021 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, I had partnered with other graduate students to bring together more than 150 members from academia, industry, government, and NGOs to network and exchange experiences.

If you are a graduate student, I encourage you to become a member and dive into all the membership opportunities, such as the leadership conference, networking session, and webinars for professional development, among many others. My membership gave me a sense of belonging and assurance that I had found with my peers and professional community.