Gupta Values Scholars Application Workshop, August 7, 2026

Hello everyone. Sorry. Um, so Jane's Zoom crashed and she will be right back and I think she is back. Okay, Jane's back. >> Hi everyone. I'm so sorry. My uh my internet here at home uh vanished so I apologize. Um Miriam, what section are we on? >> I was just saying that your Zoom crashed so we can pick up right where you left off. >> Great. All right, let me just share my screen and we'll get back to it. Thank you all for your patience. All right. Uh, well, thank you everybody. So, uh, we'll just talk I was just going to tell you all about our agenda for today. Um, we'll introduce you to our panelists. We'll tell you more about the scholarship. We'll walk you through the application process and talk about how to submit a standout application. We'll tell you more about the GBS weekend in Washington DC. And then we'll finish with Q&A and next steps. So, I'd like to introduce you to our panelists next. Uh from the RACKOM side, I'm thrilled to welcome Ethan Brammer, assistant dean, who will be speaking about the application review and sharing more about what makes a compelling application. On the scholar side, we have Dian Long, uh who's con concluded two years as a Gupta values scholar, and Shamim Bano, who's a returning Gupta values scholar this year. Uh they'll show more about the application process and the experience of being a Gupta values scholar. So, thank you all for being here today. Uh next I'll share a little background about the scholarship. The Gupta value scholarship was established in 2017 and has had 29 Rackom scholars awarded so far. It was established by the Gupta family foundation which is a private nonprofit foundation headquartered in Virginia. I'm excited to say we have a special message from the Gupta themselves which uh we'll take a moment to hear from them directly. >> Hello, I am Shashikan Gupta >> and I'm Margaret Gupta. We understand that you're considering applying for a good value scholarship. So the we thought we would take a little time and tell you about the scholarship because it is unique. It's more than a check in the mail or a deposit in your bank account. We want to get to know you and for you to know us and we want you to deeply appreciate the values on which the scholarship is built so that you can take them forward in your lives and careers. So, how do we do this? We come to the campus in the fall to spend an evening with you. Then each spring, all of the scholars from the University of Michigan as well as the other campuses come to DC to spend a weekend with us. A weekend of ex exploration, discussion and reflection on what living by the values of integrity, human dignity and excellence means in real life. Talking about real life, let us share our journey with you. Shashi and I started our technology services business as a social experiment. We wanted to see if a business built on values could thrive in a world that was driven largely by greed. So we built our company on the same three values, integrity, human dignity and excellence. And it did thrive. What we found was that contrary to common belief, these values in fact gave us a strong competitive edge. Customers trusted us to do the right thing, deliver an excellent product and develop a deeper relationship with us than is usual in transactional business. Because of this, we were able to win business against large companies like IBM and Capgeemini in competitive procurements. >> In 2016, we decided to bring this message to young people like you. Living a valuesdriven life is a superpower, not a hindrance. as the current social ethos would have you think and the changes in our country since then have served to highlight the importance of ethics for each individual and society as a whole. We hope that you will let us join you in your life journey to reinforce these principles. We invite you to apply for the Gupta Value Scholarship and join us in an exciting journey. We look forward to seeing you in Ann Arbor in the fall and DC in the spring. >> Hello. >> Wonderful. Uh so thank you so much to Margaret and Shashi for share sharing your story with us today. Uh so our next story our next question is about why become a Gupta scholar. So uh first you'll be uh becoming a Gupta scholar means you're joining an esteemed group of scholars across all disciplines and multiple universities. The support extends beyond the financial support and into meaningful experiences that last beyond the year from your fellow scholars to the Gupta family foundation themselves. Being a part of this group will add connections, missiondriven work, and the chance to make a difference. We're also excited to announce that this year the award has increased to $10,000 per scholar. Uh this will be awarded in April after participating in the Washington DC weekend. The scholarship is eligible for an additional year renewal which means you could opt to participate in the program with these awards and these events for a second year if you so so choose. As a Gupta Values Scholar, you'd be asked to attend two connection opportunities with the Guptas. This includes a dinner on October 22nd here at Rackom which will be attended by Margaret and Shashi and by Rackom Dean Mike Solomon. The second is a weekend in Washington DC with the Gupta Family Foundation, your fellow Rackom scholars and scholars from MSU and Northern Virginia Community College. This year's trip will be April 9th to 11th, 2027. Now, I'd love to hear more from our uh scholars. uh what has been a highlight of your experience as a Gupta value scholar? Uh we'll start with Deianne and then we'll hear from Shamim. Uh Dian, would you like to kick us off? >> Uh thank you Jen and hello everyone. Uh my name is Dang Lun. I am a PhD candidate in communication and media and uh I used to be a journalist. Actually uh I spoke as a palist last year and I also talk about the highlight of being a good scholar last year but I still have something to say about it this year. So you can tell how um so many things I have to talk about the being a good scholar. So in in a nutshell the scholarship helped me reconnect my academic work with the values that shaped my earlier career which is journalism. What I mean is when you when you are in rasool you can be very focused on things like deadlines, publications and what comes next in your life. So the scholarship gave me a reason to step back and ask a more basic question. What kind of scholar I want do I want to become and whom should my work serve? So the financial support obviously matters for sure of 75 uh 7,500 obviously matters but for me the bigger value was being part of a community that connect uh my academic work with integrity and public purpose and here is how I experience it. So before my business as I told you I was a researchers and a journalist. So I spent years reporting on and researching on powerful political and commercial interest. Those experience repeatedly forced me to decide what integrity actually meant when there were so many personal risk involved. So with the when I started writing down the Gupta application, it makes me reconnect those choices to the researchers I was becoming. So over the past two years or three years, the scholarship has kept that connection visible. So the bottom line is it does remind me that academic success does matter most when it remains connected to the values and the public purpose that I committed to serving. That's the key highlight of being a good scholar that I was able to recognize over the past three years. Thank you. >> Thank you Deian. Uh Shamim, why don't you um tell us a bit more as well? >> Um sure. Uh I'm Shamim Vanu and I'm a dual degree student at C's and at RAS. Um my personal highlight of Gupta Val scholarship experience so far has been an opportunity to meet um with a diverse group of scholars from other universities and backgrounds and the field of study during our trip in Washington DC. we get to meet each other and other than that like spending this weekend with the fellow scholars allowed me to build a meaningful connection learn from different perspectives and become part of a a community which is united by a shared commitment to service and making a positive change in the society. um throughout our community services during the weekend in Washington DC and the team discussions and conversations around different social issues at the dinner with the family. I was able to reflect more deeply on my own responsibility as a future leader and as a member of the society. Um other than that like visiting historical sites in the Washington DC while engaging with other scholars who share a passions for service community service and which was a very meaningful and memorable experience for me and the weekend further uh strengthened my belief in the importance of leading with integrity staying connected to your deep uh values and your root values. Where are you coming from? and treating every person with integrity, making friends and using my education and opportunity to create a meaningful um positive impact and change in the community we live and we serve. So that was a highlight from this experience. >> Yeah. >> Thank you so much. I mean um wonderful. So now that you have an idea of um of what it means to be a Gupta value scholar, I'll talk about the logistics of applying. So any RACKOM graduate student in good academic standing is eligible. You'll need to be an active student in the fall and winter semesters of the year that you're applying. Awardies will be selected through their application materials. recipients have demonstrated integrity in the face of challenges, a commitment to human dignity and a dedication to excellence in all they do inside and outside the academy. The Gupta value scholarship application consists of three main components: a personal essay, a recommendation letter, and your CV. The essay prompt is designed to let you showcase how you've demonstrated the core values in your life and work. Be sure to follow the prompt closely and be specific in your responses. You'll also need a recommendation letter and an updated CV. Your recommendation letter should come from someone familiar with your work, such as a faculty adviser, a professor, or a professional supervisor. I suggest making a plan to ask as soon as possible. You'll want to give your recommener plenty of time to write a thoughtful and compelling letter. If you have a question about recommenders, you can email rackom ffyouish.edu edu for more specific advice and Miriam will add that email address to the chat. In terms of other advice, make sure you share the prompt with your recommener so they know what the reviewing committee will be looking for. You should consider how your essay and your recommendation letter will fit together. What could your recommener tell us that would add depth to your essay? Maybe illuminate another side of your application. You may want to share details about the essay and specifically name what aspects of your work or academic interests you'd like the recommener to speak to. If you work far enough ahead, you could even share your essay with your recommener to help them write the recommendation. Next, let's hear from our scholars again. I'd love to hear more about how you approach your essay and then what advice would you give regarding the recommendation letter? How did you guide your recommener in terms of writing a strong letter? Uh Shamine, would you like to begin and then we'll hear from Dian? >> Sure. Um so I approached my essay um as like a reflection of my journey, the values that shaped me and the purpose that continues to guide my work. So um I wanted to share my um share not only like academics and professional experience but also like a very personal experiences uh that shaped my commitment to education, service and creating opportunities for other what I did in past. So I am basically an international student and I traveled a lot in different cities across Pakistan and as well as like in US and living home at a very young age to pursue education taught me the um transformative power of learning and importance of using opportunities to uplift other um yeah so uh my education journey um from Pakistan to Michigan has like strengthened my belief that education is not only part of the personal growth. So I edit all these stuff in my application. I made it like very personal uh not very um professional or because they have their CV obviously. So and through like I focused more on the invol involvement in the community initiatives like I am running a small student welfare organization for underprivileged kids in uh remote regions in Pakistan. So I included that and um I learned the importance of like I aided the importance of compassion, collaboration and services. I wanted my essay to reflect how these experiences shape my commitment to addressing social challenges and creating meaningful impact and um I edited my personal story. uh and also I I did my academic interest in sustainability and the development and my broader goal of working towards more equitable and inclusive societies through businesses. Um so I wanted my readers to understand not just that I have what I have accomplished so far what are like my degrees or my achievements so far but I also was more um inclined toward the commitment to serving others and aiding how how we at the important values of like integrity human dignity and excellence that guided our journey. So my approach was more of like making it more personal that they know us as a person not as somebody um like a recommendation letter for a a job or something like that. So for the recommendation letter I approached my recommendation letter by choosing my faculty advisor at CES because uh he has closely followed my academic journey and progress and growth throughout the journey in the University of Michigan. So I emailed him like few days before the deadline. I reached out to him and requested a meeting to discuss the Gupta value scholarship in detail, its missions and why it's important like why this opportunity is like meaningful to me. So during our conversation I shared my education journey, my future inspirations, my previous community work and commitment to using education as tool to create a positive change. Um, so I wanted to give him enough time to thoroughly like reflect on my conversation and write a letter that generally represent me as a person. So since he already was familiar with my progress and work, so I think his recommendation letter play a like role in this uh application. Yeah, >> thank you Shim. Uh, Deian, um, how about you? what did you how did you approach your essay and how did you guide your recommener in terms of writing a strong letter? >> Okay. Uh so I am sure that when you are here and you have planned to apply for the Gupta scholarship you have already have great stories about your own integrity to to tell. So the key the two key questions you need to be able to answer is why me and why now? Why should uh uh I get the GPU scholarship and why now? So I'm sure that you have raised stories to tell the the question is how to put that story in uh 1,500 words in the most coherent and concise manner. So my advice the first one is and the u thorough advice is uh build one clear through light build one clear thesis for your own essays and make the job of the reviewer easy. What I mean by that is before starting writing your application uh before writing your essay ask yourself if the reviewer remembers only one thing about me after reading this essay what should it be that is your true lie that is your thesis. So then put yourself in the shoes of the reviewers. Put yourselves in the situation of the reviewers because reviewers should not have the background that you are having. So they you shouldn't make them have to figure out what why your story demonstrates integrity, human dignity or excellence. Make the logic obvious and visible. So try to follow this logic. uh what happened what was a stack what choice did you make what did it cost and what does it reveal about you about your integrity so here we use the show but uh show don't tell principle don't just announce your values don't just say that I value integrity show real examples show the moment when those values were actually tested and again the principle of putting yourselves in the shoes of the reviewers is very important here. Always try to make it obvious to understand because something that is very um obvious in your field might not uh quite so for a reviewer who comes from another discipline. So make it obvious and accessible to the reviewers. And here is how I did it for my essay. So as uh with a career in journalism and um research my own through line my own thesis was essentially integrity under pressure. So that's the my that's the through line I was trying to show in my essay. So I used different episodes from journalism but they all demonstrated the same pattern. there was pressure for me to back away from something I thought matter but I had to make a choice and that choice involved some professional risk. So I used many examples uh in my essay and they were different but they were on doing the same argumentative work. They all boil down to one single central argument that I didn't back away from pressure. So just to sum up uh if it's any helpful for your essay choose one through life choose one pieces then make the reviewer's job easy. Show your challenge, your choice, the cost and what it reveals about you and your integrity. That's about the essay for the recommendation error. I have to say that you are much more lucky than us in the previous cycles because if I'm uh if I'm right for this uh application cycle, you are able to choose a recommener who doesn't need to be your advisor, right? So they could come from other field. So my point is it's very important to choose someone who understand your integrity best. So it doesn't need to come from your advisor because I could see from the questions already that uh you just entering your first year at uh image here. So your advisor might not understand your integrity too well. Till you are free to choose someone who you think would understand how integity. So choose the right person is very important. And uh the second uh point is uh very realistic. Everyone is busy with their own life. So don't assume that they uh they remember about the deadline for your letter. So reach out to them early if possible. uh what I did uh when I applied for this scholarship is to reach out to my advisor one month in advance and one he agreed to write a letter uh remind him two weeks before the deadline and one week before the deadline and three days before the deadline that's what I did and it's uh not a crime to do so and actually they would appreciate that because everyone is busy with their own life so try to re make sure that your recommener remembers about the the deadline and just don't choose the reme the recommener just because of the name it but because of how they understand you well enough to write a meaningful letter about yourself. >> Thank you Deian and um yes I'm going to just concur what Deian said about um your recommener does not need to be a faculty adviser. So, anyone who maybe attended last year or who's applied in previous years might have seen that, but we expanded the um sort of official people we suggested as recommenders because we recognize that plenty of our applicants are just starting their graduate school experience and uh we want to open it up. So, um they may not if you don't have a relationship with your faculty adviser yet, that's okay. and just um yeah, as Deianne and Shim both talked about, think about someone that knows your journey and can really speak to um speak to you and and your experience. So um thank you both for um sharing more. So uh next we're going to hear from Ephram who's one of our um application reviewers. Uh so uh Ephram, can you tell us um more about what you're looking for from the reviewer side? Um, so how do you define the values that are central to the essay and what kinds of things have resonated with you in the past? >> Yeah, thank you Jane and thank you everybody um for attending this really important workshop and your interest in the Gupta Valley scholarship. Um, I feel like Shamim and Den pretty much covered everything and I'm going to be repeating a lot of what they said. we have brilliant students and obviously they've been successful at um successfully navigating you know this scholarship. Um I I think it's important just to remind everyone that this isn't kind of your straightforward academic scholarship, right? There really is something different starting from the video, right? This really is a different kind of experience. And this isn't to say getting $10,000 for getting a 4.0 you know, and having many publications isn't a valuable award and isn't important, but that's not what this is, right? And so, as a reviewer, um, that's kind of the spirit that we bring into it. This really is a special kind of opportunity to uh work with some incredible mentors in the Guptas and be a part of a really important and supportive community of Gupta scholars all built around three really important values, right? And so, um, as much as you need to be excellent in the classroom and in your research, um, what we really look for most are these stories about integrity and human dignity and excellence in ways that maybe transcend or go beyond may include your academic achievements, but kind of transcend what you're doing in the classroom. And so as a reviewer, I I think parse out and what they mean to us um differently. And so when we look at integrity, um, we're looking at you to clearly describe a challenging situation or number of situations that have relevant ethical considerations and reflection about your own personal uh, values and how you a overcame them um, in the moment or over time. And so this is about you. This is about you and how you have acted and the actions that you've taken, the decisions that you've made. Um, so you know, good example, uh, strip from the headlines, think about Dion and other journalists like somebody broke the story on Infantino and FIFA and somebody could could have made the decision not to, right? So integrity is like, am I going to break this story that is going to make a lot of people's lives difficult but has a real ethical component to it, right? Like this is something that a lot of people care about, right? And there's something that's unethical going on here and by me revealing something that's going on in the background that's a little bit shady, like that has some personal risk to it, right? it it's not like these aren't powerful people that can't do something if you reveal their secret, right? And so that's kind of showing a personal integrity. Uh we do see essays that talk about like I was tempted to cheat but I decided not to cheat, right? Um and so that shows some personal integrity of course, but um we really are looking at like larger challenges, right? So I was in a lab and we had a time pressure and um somebody in the lab wanted to falsify data and there's been a big federal grant and I just said no like we can't falsify data to meet our publishing deadlines or grant federal deadlines, right? It's just it's unethical, right? That that's higher than like I you know the person next to me in the class showed me the answers and I decided to look the other way, right? And so showing real integrity in the face of real you know high stakes challenges um despite you know some potential for um you know consequences for you personally. human dignity it is about your decisions and it is about your decision making but it's about your decision- making with regard to others. So we're interested in the examples of where you have sort of um put others people's interests first right and you really value and have compassion and empathy for others. So again, not to lean too heavily on um ide and the journalism analogy, but it it's pretty easy to build off of. Um so, you know, in the case of the FIFA journalist, like it's great to write about sports and I'm sure you have a great platform and I'm sure a lot of people, you know, will read your articles and and listen to what you have to say about sports. But I think as a reviewer we might be a little bit more interested in the journalist who decided to write about poverty around the world, right? Or um that might resonate a little bit more strongly or somebody who um you know at even challenges to their own personal career decides that they really want to write about climate change, right? because climate change is important and you know it's a really important social factor that for whatever reason politically the pendulum swings uh from time to time one way to the next but climate change affects billions of people on this planet and I'm going to show personal integrity to write about that but it's also connected to you know my compassion my love for other people right and their um health and well-being and so um That's kind of the differentiating factor when we look at integrity. It's about your personal decisions. Human dignity is about how you serve or honor or show compassion and empathy to others. Um and then excellence. Um and then again I would encourage you there's kind of a breadth of examples and a depth of examples. So if you have um just one example that example should have tremendous depth right um I think you know generally if you have two or three examples that's probably best like in when you're talking about integrity human dignity and excellence um but it's okay if you have one really great example um and you have one really great story to share kind of I mean like if you connect personally around one really good example. Um, but I would lean towards um, something like two or three really solid um, examples to kind of show your personal integrity as well as your compassion for others um, in terms of human dignity. And then excellence, we do have your CVs and we do have your transcripts, but still highlighting a couple things that are important about your academic achievements doesn't hurt, right? And especially if you can tie it all together, right? Um so if if I was sticking with the journalism analogy, if I wrote as a journalist um about climate change in a corporate newspaper, that's not going to really like that. Um or your um sponsors, you know, the people who buy your ads aren't going to really like that. Um, but I do it because it's the right thing to do for the planet and for people who live on it. Um, and oh, by the way, I won the Pulitzer Prize. Like, don't forget to mention you won the Pulitzer Prize, right? Um, like show excellence, right, in all the different ways um that you can, including the academics. Like don't assume that we're going to pull out your favorite things about your academic achievements and accomplish from your CV. Like tell us you have an opportunity to write that into your essay and highlight it yourself. And so um excellence definitely beyond the classroom um but also in the classroom and in the lab, right? And so um again what resonates with us both I think Shamine uh said it and and Deion did as well. It really is the personal story because this is about joining a community and engaging with others around shared values. >> Thank you so much, Ethram. Uh, now you may have touched on this, but anything else you want to mention that applicants should try to avoid beyond what you've said so far? >> Yeah. Um, a couple things that I'd avoid. Um, so I would avoid letting the CV speak for itself, right? I'd avoid letting the the um transcript speak for itself. It wouldn't be the top thing that I'd highlight, right? Because we do have that. Um, the other thing about letters of recommendation, um, we got some questions in the chat. As John had noted, um if you're a first semester student, you are by definition in good academic standing because you haven't done anything yet not to be in good academic standing, right? So yes, you are in good academic standing and it makes the letter a little bit difficult as has been mentioned, right? Because you may not know your advisor very well yet. you may not even have established depending on what program you are, you may not have even had an advisor permanently assigned to you yet, right? So, um even if you have a really good relationship with your academic advisor, they still might not know all the amazing things that you do outside their lab or their research group, right? And so again, focusing on somebody who knows you with regard to these values, right? Somebody who can really speak to your sense of integrity and your sense of human dignity and your uh your achievements and your excellence both in the class, the lab and beyond, right? So somebody who knows how much amazing community service that you've done or you know um so uh that's kind of a special letter writer right um and so choose your letter writer very carefully um have good conversations with them. The last thing I would just kind of lift up is um be careful of the trauma narrative as well. like we are not asking you to write a trauma narrative and you won't be selected because your experience was the most traumatic, right? And so we don't in any way want to resurface harm that you've experienced. Like there's ways that you can write very powerful stories that connect with the reviewers that don't necessarily reveal deeply personal details that you really don't want to share with people or is not in your personal self-interest and and your own health and well-being to share, right? And so I'd also just kind of avoid uh sharing traumatic events um because you can demonstrate integrity and human dignity um without necessarily sharing those kind of personal details. >> Thank you so much, Ethram. Uh so next, now that you've got a good idea of what it takes to submit a stellar application, I want to share a little more detail about the weekend in Washington DC since this is such a key memorable part of this experience. The um trip to Washington DC includes lots of time with your fellow scholars as well as sightseeing and connections with public figures. The trip has a theme every year which the speakers and activities are based on. Last year's theme was healthcare in America. There's usually a service project. So, for example, last year the group went to Cornerstone's food bank. And then there are also sessions with public figures like politicians or leaders in their field. There's also um time for sightseeing including monuments and museums. And all of this with plenty of time to build connections with the other scholars and discuss these meaningful themes. So, I would love to hear from our panelists. again. Um, our attendees here know a little more about the trip. Um, so scholars, um, are there any highlights from this weekend in your experience that you'd like to share with us? Um, Dian, would you like to go first? >> Uh, okay. Uh, so the first obvious thing is that it's this great that uh to get in to DC at weekends for free. You have great food, you have great hotel. And uh one more plus thing is uh when you are notified that you get the scholarship in October, I think you won't get your money after your DC trip. So you you have something to look forward to during that trip too as well. But uh aside from all that uh I mean when you get to meet a group of press corners from other schools from the Michigan State from uh another school in Virginia um which I spent a lot of time with people um that uh I mean that brought together scholars working on very different problems. So that promps me to explain why my work matters in the most or ordinary and accessible language. So that it reminds me of that interity and public services can look very different across disciplines. And when I got to meet different young scholars from other school, I kept being inspired by their uh by by their zeal to continue to contribute to a good cause to rally behind a good cause and that gave me hope and optimism at a time when we feel so uncertain. So it was very rewarding when you get to know new people, young people who are always inspiring to your work and your life. >> Thank you Dian Shamine. What about you? >> Yeah. So in the weekend like one of the favorite parts was learning about the values and journey behind the family themselves like their commitment to support underserved communities and creating opportunities for those who need the most during the dinner the last it was the last night in DC DC and they showed us how like they help like special kids creating crafts and now they are selling it and started earning and they're feeling like their value, they're involved. So their dedication to like giving back to the society reminded me that success is like not only measured by personal achievements but also by the way we contribute to the well-being of the others. So it was like a kind of very uh inspirational and motivational and a sign of like hope for the future like so that dinner and the discussion we had the last discussion that was like my favorite part of the weekend because um it was like very emotional and inspirational and it was kind of like hope for the future that yeah we can play our role as future leaders and can create impact in somebody else's life. Yeah. Thank you so much, Shamim. It's wonderful. Uh, so next we'll do a little more Q&A. So, um, we've got a little bit of time. Um, I think Miriam's going to share some questions. I wanted to start with one that I saw once or twice in the Q&A about um, conflicts with the dinner in October specifically. So, um, if you have a conflict with the dinner in October, that's not a reason you should not apply. So, we're never going to not award it to you because of that conflict. We've had some outofstate scholars who do a Zoom with the Guptas instead. So, you know, being able to knowing that you'll be able to attend in DC is really important, but the the dinner um you know, definitely don't feel like you cannot apply because uh you're out of state in the fall semester or something like that. We'll uh we'll find a way to make that work. So, I wanted to start there because I'd saw I'd seen a couple questions related to that. Um, Miriam, are there any other questions that you're seeing that we should address out loud? I know there's a lot in the chat. Um, so Vara has a question. How has being part of the GVS community impacted your personal growth? >> Great. Uh, Shamim or Dian, would either one of you like to speak on that? I think I uh explained it a bit that it was for me it was like a very emotional uh inspirational and motivational kind of uh we can because uh we could like actually see how the family they themselves like created impact in others life. So it was kind of reflection for us that like now that we have some opportunities we are maybe like privileged to like a lot of people like we have some um opportunities and we have skills and we have the knowledge that a lot of people don't have. So we can like in one way or other way can help others and make their lives have like easy or guide them. So I think that was like the favorite part and uh a motivation and a personal reflection for me. Yeah. >> Thank you. Anything you want to add to? >> Uh not much because I mostly agree with what uh Shaman has uh said. Uh what I would add is that uh when I got to listen to different speakers uh during my two years, I mean the way they spoke and um the way they turn their stories gave me a lot of uh um good uh lessons on how I should articulate uh again what I'm doing to ordinary audience. try to use the language that everyone would understand because actually to be honest there were good speakers but they were also not so good speakers who who failed to articulate what they were doing in the best way possible. So I I learned not only from the best but I also learned from what I should have done better. So that's I mean help me a lot during my career as someone who work in communication too. Great. Um, let's see. Any other questions that you can see in the chat that you think we should um address out loud, Miriam? Uh, we'll send out >> there were a few questions about the um recommendation letter. Um, so if you just want to speak to that. >> Yeah. Yeah. So I think you know what um our scholars and what Ethram uh you know emphasize is I think just hold that sort of someone who can um uh speak to the values and it doesn't have to necessarily have to be a U of M connected person. It's more important that they are connected to you and that they have a relationship with you and uh can sort of know you in a way that that illuminates beyond your essay and and um really highlights you. So, don't feel like you have to use a faculty adviser or a U of M professor, especially if you've only, um, just joined our, uh, U of M community. So, um, what else? Um, and then I think the rest of the questions are deadline, which I answered. So, the deadline is September 4th, and we will have the website updated soon with all of that information. >> Yeah. So, I'm sorry if it said the wrong date. We'll make sure that that gets updated. But yeah, it is September 4th, so um hold on to that. Um we'll have five new scholars this year. So, uh last year one of our scholars, uh graduated and so um he's off doing other things, so he won't be returning. So, this year we'll get to award for five new students. Um >> I do have a new question um from Kiara. How do you think the GVS shaped your path moving forward through your graduate career? Great. Shamim or Dian any of you would you like to speak on that? >> Um yeah I mean uh for the financial part like 10,000 is like a good amount you can use it as like a stipen as well. U yeah like pretty much I think we covered it the values this is not like any other typical scholarship application. This is like uh I feel like it was very different from what other applications I did last year. So you have to focus on more being of like how can you um relate your work uh towards these three core values they have and how can you as a human can create impact in somebody else's life. I think I'm repeating a lot of these points but yeah more or less it's like that. So uh and and you get to know the family as well and they're really welcoming. They welcome us to their house and they arrange a very nice like dinner and we get to know each other and it was a social event as well. So I think these and other than that we get a chance to do a food rescue empowerment like there was another uh activity that we did with like uh packed food for school kids and we wrote like small notes on all of these uh packages and everything felt like a very uh personal touch. So I think like you can have a very good opportunity to have a good weekend in DC and reflect on how you are as a person. So I would take it as that way. So yeah. >> Uh okay. Uh I want to be honest here because I think it would be a bit of a stress to say that uh this scholarship alone would play a key role in shpping the path the path of my career. But uh because there are only there are many other factors that also play a role in shaping the path of my career. But one thing I cannot deny here is that when you get the scholarship, you are able to get to know so many people from different disciplines and for your career when it's the most important to continue to widen your networking to get to know more people and you have a good resource when you get to know those people. So you will never know what kind of um opportunities or chance those people would bring to you in in the near future. So keep networking, widening your network and burn no bridge. So that's the most important thing that the scholarship has uh given me so far. That's the key takeaway here. >> Thank you. Um great 150. It's 155. Um, so we'll wrap up soon. Miriam, do you think there's any other questions that you've seen come through that we should talk about out loud? >> So, I have two questions in the chat, uh, or in the Q&A. Uh, are there any particular fields or focuses of work that the Guptas prioritize? >> Um, so the Guptas, uh, so the Guptas don't make selections. Um, so it's our RACKOM reviewers that make the selections. And, um, I'd say the answer is no. There's no particular field or um discipline you need to come from. It's it's um I've seen scholars from all sorts of disciplines. Um uh Ethram, yes, why don't you go? >> Yeah, I think you're absolutely right, Jane. I think um you know, again, this is really about the values and the values transcend these uh disciplinary um distinctions. And so whether you're in the arts, humanities, or a STEM field, humanistic social sciences or quantitative sci social sciences, you can talk about your integrity and you can talk to your about your commitment to human dignity. Um it's not a criteria that we consider um like in terms of what discipline you are. Um but uh we do we are aware and we would showing integrity on our own end um like to see a diversity of fields and disciplines represented but we don't make decisions based on that right like we want this to be an opportunity available to everybody from any field. >> Great question. Thank you uh for your response Eth. Anything else um in our last minute or two? >> Yes, I still have some questions. I think they're both related to resources and um I'll answer these. So, you mentioned briefly that you expanded the suggestions for recommendation letter sources. Can you direct to where these suggestions can be found? And then the other question is, can we get a link where we can find these prompts for the essay and the letter of recommendations? And all of that for both those questions will be sent in the email. Correct. >> Yep. >> All Yeah. >> Yes. Absolutely. And that brings me to my uh housekeeping. So uh the link there um brings you to the rack the Gupta page on the rackom site and from there you can click the um apply button which goes to the ramp portal and so the prompt for the essay is there. Uh details on the reviewers is there. Um so everything you need should be there as well as we'll send all this out so you have it that way as well. Um, as we mentioned, applications are due September 4th by midnight. Um, anything else that we want to touch on? >> Um, so somebody planning on using AI to reduce application. Willers be screening for AR AI use to ensure a fair process? >> It's a good question. Ether point I guess I don't think but I'll let you >> intersects with two different areas that I'm doing work. So um the question is will we be screening for AI like I can tell you we will not like apply some market AI screening tool to the pool of applications right like we're not investing in doing that I can also tell you that if you try to use AI to write this essay it probably isn't going to resonate because AI tends to spit out very generic language, right? Um, and that if you've heard anything from our panelists today, it really is about your personal story. And you write your personal story best. You write your So, I think that actually answers another question that we have. Is creative writing encouraged or better to keep a more academic professional tone? Um, so as Erum just mentioned, uh, personal is best. And then another question we have, approximately what percentage of your previous Scoopa scholars have been newly incoming graduate students? I don't know that we have that data. Um, I was sort of just wondering about that. Um, I think I think it's not a huge percentage, but I don't think that is because of you being a newly professional, you know, it's more just like the people who've been at the university longer just have more chances to apply and things like that. So, um, and also the change from using a faculty adviser to a more wider pool was deliberate this year to encourage, um, more students that are sort of just starting here to, um, take advantage of this opportunity. So um >> uh if it any helpful uh I applied when I just finished my first year of my PhD so a bit early but I still got it. So just to just so you know. Yep. >> Yeah. And I think one or two of our scholars last year were first year students. So um certainly they can come you know any any stage that you're in is grand. um as long as you're not if you're graduating in December then as we talked about that's that makes you sort of ineligible. You have to be a student in April. So >> um >> in the interest of transparency just like your program and your field of study like we know as reviewers um whether you're first year student or fifth year student. Yeah. All right. Um, the prompt for the uh letter of recommendation seems to not be in the link provided. Can you help with that? Yes, we will make sure we get that sent out. Um, all right. So, let's see. It's 2011, so I want to try to wrap up. Um, if you have any other questions, um, let's see. If you are in the last year of your masters, can you still apply? So, if you're graduating in winter semester, so like April 29th or whatever it ends up being this year, then yes. But if you're graduating in December of this year, then you're not eligible. Um, okay. We'll make sure that we send out all of the um Q&A questions. And if anyone does have anything else, please email me um or our Rackom FF team. So um I want to thank our panelists and um thank you all for attending and we're really excited to um see your applications and um hope uh we hear from you. So, thank you so much everyone. >> Thank you and good luck.