By Madelyn Ostendorf
Albulena Basha's efforts to advocate for and build community among fellow students earned her the Outstanding Student Leader of the Year Award for 2024.
The award, presented by Iowa State University's Office of Student Engagement, recognizes one student each year who is active in a student organization, inspires growth in others, enriches the future of their community and organization, and goes above and beyond their duties.
Basha, a doctoral student in agricultural economics, previously served as the vice president of the Economics Graduate Student Association (EGSA). She will assume the role of president of the organization this fall. Basha also is a senator representing the economics graduate students on the Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS).
Originally from Kosovo, Basha completed her undergraduate degree at the Rochester Institute of Technology's campus in Prishtina, Kosovo. She then applied for a Kosovo American Education Fund Fellowship, which selects up to eight students annually to attend universities in the U.S. She was placed at Iowa State to complete her graduate studies. Two years after graduating with master's degrees in sustainable agriculture and economics, Basha returned to Iowa State to begin doctoral studies in agricultural economics.
As a student, Basha has seen how the policies at Iowa State affect her and fellow graduate students. While serving as EGSA vice president, she felt compelled to find ways to improve the graduate student experience.
"As club members and officers, we are very close to students," Basha said. "We see what affects us and can go out and talk with others. We can ask if they are also affected by these rules or policies, and then, when solutions are devised, we can go back and ask if they think it would be helpful. The most important thing is to listen. If you sit down and talk with graduate students, they really tell you things. Showing our students that we care, talking to people, listening—it matters."
Basha helped implement several workshops and events as EGSA vice president, many of which helped graduate students prepare for their career search. She secured funding through the GPSS and arranged a CliftonStrengths and Interview Mastery workshop with Jennifer Leptien, director of learning communities, and John Winters, professor of economics. This program allowed economics graduate students to identify their workplace strengths, learn how to build upon them, and effectively market their strengths to potential employers.
Basha and her EGSA team introduced awards in the graduate student seminar series for the first time, made possible through funding Basha secured from GPSS.
"Albulena stands out among students in our Ph.D. program for her focus on nurturing community among her fellow students," said Joshua Rosenbloom, chair of the economics department. "She has advocated for steps to support graduate student mental health in the department and has been instrumental in organizing social events that bring graduate students together and foster interaction with faculty outside the classroom."
As a representative for economics graduate students in GPSS, Basha helped fundraise for the 2023 GPSS Conference, providing opportunities for all graduate students at Iowa State to present their research and compete for professional development awards. Additionally, she initiated a discussion in the Senate regarding the university's incomplete grade policy. She continues to collaborate with other senators, the GPSS executive team and university administrators to revise the policy in ways that do not negatively affect the future career prospects of students enrolled at Iowa State.
"It's something that affects not only our graduate students but also the undergraduates," Basha said. "When incompletes remain on the transcript indefinitely, the university may unintentionally harm students' career prospects for reasons beyond their control—often health-related issues that students cannot predict or manage." Basha emphasizes that a positive first step has been the openness of university administrators to discuss this issue, and she is eager to continue collaborating with them to find a solution.
Basha is excited to serve as EGSA president and to join the CALS Dean's Graduate Student Advisory Council in the 2024-2025 academic year. She encourages all graduate students to get more involved in these types of roles and to help bring about the changes they wish to see in their communities.
"I've always enjoyed being the person to help fill in the gaps," Basha said. "With so many people on campus, the university or the department can't always meet every need immediately, especially if we don't communicate how certain policies affect us directly. I wanted to contribute in a meaningful way. My involvement with the Economics Graduate Student Association and the Graduate and Professional Student Senate provided me with the opportunity to work with a team to make a difference."