Council Member Directory

Simas is a senior at GS studying history. He is expecting to graduate in May 2024 with his younger brother, Rimas CC'24, after a happy set of coincidences led their paths back together after high school at Bergen County Academies. Simas grew up in northern New Jersey, not too far from campus. Coming to Columbia was something of a childhood dream come true because his parents met in Mudd Hall as graduate students. Simas is happiest on his grandparent’s biodynamic organic farm in rural southern Lithuania, where he learned how to drive, off-roading in a 1999 Ford Ranger, chasing rogue sheep. He worked there for some time prior to coming to Columbia. 

He is passionate about building community at GS, both as a distinct, diverse, and supportive community and as a part of the wider Columbia undergraduate student body. In the previous three years, Simas has served as the Community Service and Sustainability Representative on the Campus Life Committee and the Vice-President of Finance. In fact, the 2023-2024 Academic Year marks the third time that he has successfully passed a GSSC budget and his fourth year being involved with GSSC. His top priorities for the year are maintaining high levels of transparency, continuing accountable and responsible spending practices, and actively facilitating the work of the GSSC in conditions that make long-term planning difficult. For any questions, comments, or concerns pertaining to the work of the Finance Committee, please know that his door (email inbox) is always open.

Savanah is a senior studying Political Science, originally hailing from rural upstate New York. She became involved in student advocacy during her time at Community College where she served in executive student leadership positions on both a campus and statewide scale. She is passionate about empowering student voices in collaboration with administration and ensuring that everyone has a seat at the table! In her position on council, Savanah is excited to lead the policy making branch at GSSC! She is passionate about initiatives uplifting the Columbia student experience and providing resources to the GS campus community! In her free time Savanah enjoys exploring NYC’s various food, dance, art, and theater scenes!

Stand Columbia!

Oliver is in his fourth year of the Dual BA Program with Trinity College Dublin and is graduating in 2024. He studied Middle Eastern and European Languages and Cultures at Trinity and studies Political Science at Columbia.

As VP of Communications Oliver is excited to help make GSSC work as smoothly as possible, and is excited to play an active role in making sure all the hard work we put in as GSSC gets communicated to the student body, so we can get everyone at Columbia as involved as possible. He loves being a part of GSSC so he can play an active role in the GS community, and can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings!

Get To Know Nasser

Major: English and Film & Media Studies, Class of 2025

Contact Info: [email protected]

Nasser is in his third year at GS, studying English and Film & Media Studies. He plans to attend film school after Columbia and has been actively involved in GSSC since arriving to Columbia in the fall of 2021. Before GS, Nasser obtained bachelor’s degrees in the fields of Chemistry and Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, before deciding to leave STEM and return to school to pursue new academic and career opportunities. In between his previous university and Columbia, Nasser worked as the Head of Operations at a non-profit food business focused on refugee and asylum-seeking women from Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa regions.

Outside of his involvement on student council and in school, Nasser is involved with two student groups that advocate for first-generation, low-income students, Matriculate and the GS FGLI group, as well as serving as an Orientation Leader and Crew Captain during the New Student Orientation Period (NSOP). Additionally, Nasser works part-time for the Columbia Library system, as an Admissions Ambassador and Tour Guide for the GS Admissions Office, and as a gig worker for the Columbia Bartending Agency.

Nasser’s focus on council is to ensure that all four Committees are fully supported and functioning, while overseeing opportunities for collaboration within and outside of GSSC. His initiatives include working on a variety of important changes for students through advocacy work on the Policy Committee, specifically along the domains of finances, dining, housing, academic policies, and mental health, ensuring that GSSC’s student events represent the diverse interests and increased demand of our student body through the Campus Life Committee, and enhancing the logistical work done by the Finance and Communications Committee.

In his downtime, Nasser can be found exploring restaurants throughout the city, taking walks around Morningside Heights, listening to music, watching movies or television, or spending time with friends.

If you see Nasser around campus, make sure to say hi and introduce yourself!

Kat is a fourth year student in GS studying Political Science with focuses in International Politics and Comparative Politics and graduating in 2024. She is a part of the Trinity College Dublin and Columbia University Dual BA Program and spent her first two years of Uni in Dublin, Ireland. She studied Middle Eastern and European Languages and Cultures with specializations in German and Arabic studies. This year, on top of her Columbia work, Kat will be working on her Capstone Project for Trinity. Her interests lie in the political and international relations fields and hopes one day to work in the UN or State Department. In the coming years she is looking to work in Consulting and live in Europe.

As VP of Campus Life, Kat hopes to increase both the quality and quantity of events that the Campus Life Committee brings to the GS student body this year! She seems great potential with the committee and is looking forward to working with students on all committees to not only have fun events, but also informational academic events as well. Her biggest goal for the year is to ensure that the GSSC Gala is more accessible for students, is hosted in a unique location, and out-does her work last year. Kat loves to say that “campus life is her sh*t” and truly believes that this is the best place for her to be on the GSSC team!

Outside of classes and GSSC you can find Kat working with Columbia Women in Business Society as a part of the conference committee, working with the Friend of Aine non-profit raising awareness and money for child bereavement, and traveling to Dublin and Germany to visit her friends abroad. She loves being sarcastic, finding dogs to pet, and finding quiet spaces to listen to music and people watch. Please feel free to reach out to her with any questions about Campus Life that you might have or if you just want to grab coffee!

Get To Know Bruce 

Major: Economics & Neuroscience ‘26

Bruce is a French Air Force Veteran who used to run Track & Field competitively (400 m / 3,000 m). He deeply values the Columbia Experience for students and officers and wants to ensure that all individuals have at their disposal the necessary tools and resources to stay healthy and to thrive academically and professionally. His areas of focus are the availability and accessibility of campus student space, financial aid, access to mental health care, and course search and registration innovation. On the University Senate, Bruce co-chairs the Student Affairs Committee and serves on the Information and Communications Technology and Executive committees. He is a member of the Columbia Alumni Association Board and the Columbia Economics Society.

Before joining the military, Bruce worked in the laboratories of Veolia Water Technologies, focusing on the provision of drinking water in humanitarian emergencies. He also worked for Rotary International, organizing fundraising to support rural electrification and the structural transformation of schools and villages in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Togo. Bruce strongly believes that we must speak up for those whose voices are not heard and that we each have a role to play in reducing the inequalities we witness, remaining conscious of the impact that we have on people and on society.