Meet Carla: Peninsula & Parkville Events Officer

Once a Monash graduate student herself, Carla De La Paz is the MGA's newest shining star, responsible for ensuring that our grads are getting plenty of TLC at our smaller campuses and off-campus locations

First, a bit about Carla.

Carla has certainly enjoyed a unique pipeline at the MGA. We first met Carla in 2022, when she began her Master of Journalism here at Monash. At first, she wasn't even aware that there was a representative body specifically for graduate students. When a friend told her about the MGA she discovered that we were also hiring grad students at the time to work as casual receptionists at the Caulfield office, a perfect job for her as a full-time student, and so began her long journey with us up until this day. 

"It would get me out my studies and into something a little bit more hands on", she says. "Even though I was working as a receptionist, I also got to know and understand my peers on a different level, especially when it came to helping out with MGA events". 

Through this work, Carla gained a better understanding of the MGA's offerings to her as a grad student. She was particularly glad to become acquainted with our free food events, like pop-up grocers and free lunches, which she herself relied on during busy days studying on campus.

As she chipped away at her degree, she got to know the MGA staff, volunteers and wider community very well. 

"There are just so many different avenues where you can formulate relationships and a better understanding of different roles within the MGA", she says. 

All this experience perfectly primed Carla for her next chapter with the MGA. When she completed her studies at the beginning of this year, we just happened to be hiring again! This time, though, we were looking for a full-time events extraordinaire to take care of our grad students at Monash's smaller campus locations, namely Peninsula and Parkville. Who better for the job than Carla?

Now, onto her current role at the Peninsula and Parkville campuses. 

If you're a grad student based at either of these two campuses, Carla is your go-to person. She also takes care of grads at other off-campus locations, like Monash Medical Centre (MMC), AMREP and Law Chambers. 

"I have been working on some new upcoming events as well as the regular events the MGA runs for students based at all of these locations", Carla explains. "At AMREP, we do a lot of coffee catch-ups and pub nights. Same goes for MMC." You can find all of those events and more here.

As for Peninsula, alongside the plethora of usual offerings, Carla has been giving away free lunch vouchers as a part of the MGA's 'Connect & Collect' initiative. This will end in mid-April, so don't miss out! You can learn all about it here.

But Carla has plenty more things in store.

"Something we're trying to implement on our smaller campuses this year is more welfare and wellness events", she says. "We want to show those students that we are there for them as well". She's hoping to get these programs up and running over the coming months.

So, what can Carla do for you?

Carla understands that the needs of students in these cohorts are unique and that MGA services should be fit-for-purpose at each of these locations. 

"These students all in very different stages of their lives", she explains. "Many are doing research degrees. A lot of them are doing placements. Some students are working in clinics or hospitals. It's a very different environment to undertaking a coursework degree at Clayton or Caulfield". 

This is why Carla wants to hear from you if you're one of these grad students with a burning question or a killer idea! 

"One thing I really want to know is what these students want from the MGA, so we can make sure we tailor our services and events to them". 

And aside from that, she'd like to remind students based at any of these locations that regular MGA services are always available to them. "There's nothing to lose by getting more involved with the MGA", she says. 

What are you waiting for? Get in touch with Carla to help her help YOU!