Our annual celebration of MIT’s graduate students will take place April 3-9, 2023.
Hear all about Graduate Student Appreciation Week and other positive, wellness-related content: follow MIT GradLink on Facebook, and Twitter!
Monday-Friday, April 3-7
Free coffee at Area Four (M-F, 11:30am until 10pm)
500 Technology Square, Cambridge
Saunter over to Area Four (500 Technology Sq #416 in Cambridge) any day Monday through Friday and present your MIT grad student ID for a free small-sized cup of drip coffee while supplies last. Limit one per grad student, please.
Photo contest: Free beach towels and more prizes!
Contest closed
*Learn more about the contest details below.
Sunset bike rides, lab days with your research group, studying in unique spots, beautiful views on campus, or anything else that inspires an image — we want to see moments from your life that speak to your experience at MIT!
You can enter one image per category, if it inspires you! Please submit each entry in a new form.
Categories:
- That’s so MIT (On-brand moments in your life that make you say, “That’s so MIT of me/us!” Winner will be selected on visual merit rather than being the “most MIT.”)
- Seen off-campus (Landscapes of Boston and Cambridge or off-campus experiences, like field work or MIT group trips)
- Grad life “art photography” (Artsy shots, detail shots, thinking outside of the box)
- Joy (An image that radiates joy, connected in any way to your MIT experience!)
- People’s Choice (by popular vote)
Prizes include Tech Cash and beach towels! Learn more about the contest and submit your photos to enter starting Monday, April 3.
Your MIT email address will only be used to provide pickup details if you win a prize.
Have coffee with a friend at Hayden Cafe!
All vouchers have been distributed.
Serious question: Can you ever have too much coffee? If you haven’t yet reached your quota, the MIT Libraries is here to help! Stop by OGE headquarters in 3-107 to pick up vouchers for free coffee at the Hayden Cafe! Two vouchers per person, so you can tag up with a friend.
Raffle for grad students with children
Raffle closed
Grad students with children: Enter a raffle for a $25 gift certificate to Henry Bear’s Park Toy Store in Porter Square — there will be 10 winners! Submit your entry (limit 1 per grad family) by noon on Friday, April 7. The drawing will take place Friday afternoon and winners will be contacted by email.
Monday, April 3
Chair massages (Registration required)
MIT One Community Room (8-219) / 11:00am-3:30pm /
Registration FULL for a chair massages (one per student; sign up for either Monday or Wednesday)
Start the week out right — treat yourself to a free chair massage! Register in advance to secure your 15 minute slot. Your neck and shoulders will thank you!
One massage per student (sign up for either Monday or Wednesday).
Sponsored by the Office of Graduate Education.
Tuesday, April 4
Speedy nutrition for grad students on the go
E19-202 / 11am-1pm
Are you busy? Are you hungry? Are you looking for ways to build a little more nutrition and healthy eating into your day? CAPD’s Graduate Student Career Advising and Professional Development team has you covered.
In celebration of Graduate Student Appreciation Week, we have partnered with Clover Food Lab to cook up a healthy food pop-up with some tempting and delicious giveaways and prizes. There will be Clover meal kits with all you need to make a healthy dinner for two, spices, recipes, mason-jar soup mixes, and more.
Sponsored by Career Advising and Professional Development.
Plant your own lucky bamboo
Bush Room (10-105) / 4-5pm
Fill a glass vase with your choice of pebbles and shoots of bamboo. Will you choose 1 stalk for truth or commitment? 2 stalks for love? Or 3 stalks for happiness or a new beginning? Plant your choice and bring some luck to your home or workspace!
Available while supplies last.
Sponsored by the Office of the Chancellor.
GradDiversity bowling night (Registration required)
Lucky Strike / 6-8pm
Registration FULL for this event
GradDiversity cordially invites you to join us for an evening of bowling, food, and fun to show our appreciation for your hard work and dedication to your academic pursuits! This event promises to be a perfect blend of social networking and a welcoming atmosphere where you can relax, socialize, and enjoy healthy competition. It’s a chance to unwind and celebrate your achievements with fellow graduate students.
This event is people-of-color centered, queer and trans-affirming, and welcoming to those of all abilities and bodies, but space is limited!
Open to first 30 registrants.
Sponsored by the Office of Graduate Education.
Wednesday, April 5
Chair massages (Registration required)
MIT One Community Room (8-219) / 11:00am-3:30pm
REGISTRATION FULL for chair massages (one per student; register for either Monday or Wednesday)
You made it halfway through the week — treat yourself to a free chair massage! Register in advance to secure your 15 minute slot. Your neck and shoulders will thank you!
One massage per student (sign up for either Monday or Wednesday).
Sponsored by the Office of Graduate Education.
Thursday, April 6
GradSupport open house (Drop-in for the raffle, advance registration closed)
Building 3-136 / 10am-12pm
Come to our new office space to say hi! We will have grab-and-go lunches for those who register. Didn’t register? Stop by anyway and enter our raffle for a chance to win a soothing full-body massage! We can’t wait to see you.
Sponsored by the Office of Graduate Education.
Crafty coffee break (RSVPs encouraged or drop-in)
MIT One Community Room, 8-219 / 1:30-3pm
Are you curious to learn how to knit or crochet? Perhaps you already have a project going and want some company? Join us in the One Community Room for coffee, pastries, and crafts! MIT graduate administrator volunteers will be there to teach you a simple pattern or offer advice/encouragement/creative brainstorming to those a bit further down the path.
Drop-ins are welcome! RSVPs are encouraged so that we bring enough supplies for those interested.
Grad/postdoc mental health & wellness speaker: Dr. Lloyd
3-4:30pm / Online / Sign up to receive the Zoom link
Our speaker Dr. Lloyd will discuss issues of depression, anxiety and relational challenges inherent to the graduate student/postdoc experience from a developmental perspective. Dr. Lloyd will take a clinical approach to the topic, use examples, and draw from his experience of working with graduate students at MIT. He will also discuss effective ways of managing these commonly occurring challenges and, finally, will discuss mental health treatment offered at the MIT Student Mental Health and Counseling Services. This CAPD event is open to MIT graduate students & postdocs.
Sponsored by Career Advising and Professional Development
Paint night (Registration required)
7-8:30pm / Limited last-minute spaces available!
Want to stretch your creativity? Give painting a try! Grad students will get step-by-step guidance from a professional artist through an evening of painting. You’ll be welcome to follow along or create something of your own! No experience necessary — all levels welcome.
Open to first 50 registrants. All supplies provided.
Sponsored by the Office of Graduate Education
Friday, April 7
ISO lunch (Registration required)
12-2pm / Check the ISO newsletter for registration details
During Grad Appreciation Week, international grad students are invited enjoy some food during lunchtime!
Stress relief & clarifying intent (Registration required)
A-Center / 1-2pm / Register for stress relief & clarifying intent
In this class, we will stretch all the major muscle groups and learn simple, do-able practices to relax and reset. Attendees will also walk through an intention-setting practice, and receive a whiteboard and marker to take home. We can accomplish more of the things that are important to us when our goals are clear!
Appropriate for all experience levels. Yoga equipment will be provided. Please wear comfortable exercise clothes. Open to first 25 registrants.
Instructor: Zan Barry, Community Wellness at MIT Medical
G-FLI & alumni meet and greet
MIT One Community Room (8-219) / 5:30-7:30pm / RSVP for event reminders and updates
Graduate students who identify as first-generation and/or low-income are invited to come connect with each other and with MIT alumni who share their identity! Connect with new friends and potential mentors over light refreshments.
Sponsored by the Office of Graduate Education in collaboration with G-FLI.
Saturday, April 8
Music at the Blissful for graduate student parents and children
Stata Ampitheatre / 11am-12pm
Evan from “Music at the Blissful,” a National Tour Children’s Musician, joins our MIT graduate student parents and children for an event full of music, movement and fun for all. We’ll be singing, moving, playing with instruments, scarves, puppets, and much more during this crowd participatory party. Snacks provided.
Hosted by the Office of Graduate Education and MIT Spouses & Partners Connect.
Walking tour of Boston (Registration required)
2-4pm / Register for a walking tour
Get outdoors and enjoy some early spring weather! Join former MIT staff member and professional city tour guide Ed Ballo for a two-hour walk along Boston’s Freedom Trail. The trail is a red line on the pavement that leads past 16 different historic sites and was created 60 years ago. Wear walking shoes and weather-appropriate clothing.
Space for this event is highly limited, and sign-up is required. Please let us know if you can’t make it so the spot can be opened to someone on the waitlist.
Sponsored by the Office of Graduate Education.
Sunday, April 9
Walking tour of Boston (Registration required)
2-4pm / Register for a walking tour
Get outdoors and enjoy some early spring weather! Join former MIT staff member and professional city tour guide Ed Ballo for a two hour walk along Boston’s Freedom Trail. The trail is a red line on the pavement that leads past 16 different historic sites and was created 60 years ago. Wear walking shoes and weather-appropriate clothing.
Space for this event is highly limited, and sign-up is required. Please let us know if you can’t make it so the spot can be opened to someone on the waitlist.
Sponsored by the Office of Graduate Education.
If you have questions, email gradlink@mit.edu.
*Photo contest details
Enter our photo contest and share moments from your life that speak to your experience at MIT!
WINNERS & PRIZES:
Need encouragement? Each day of the contest, the first 10 submissions will win a beach towel! (“Days” will run from 10am to 10am from April 3 to 10am – April 8, 10am; all photos must be submitted by midnight on April 9.) We’ll notify beach towel winners on Monday, April 10.
All photos will be entered in a special People’s Choice competition, so check GradLink on social media or look for an email from your Grad Admin to vote the week of April 10! Voting will close at noon on Thursday, April 13.
The OGE’s panel of staff judges will select one winner from each category. A student may only win in a single category. Winners will be announced on Friday, April 14, and will receive $50 in TechCash and have their image displayed proudly, with attribution (unless specifically request below), on the OGE’s walls.
WHAT’S NEXT:
Stay tuned to see your photos on the OGE’s social media (with attribution, unless specifically requested below) and stop by the OGE’s office suites in 3-107 and 3-136 in May to see the winners displayed in all their glory.
