GSAS Honors Outstanding Student Instructors with 2024 Teaching Awards
May 1, 2024
Abigail Arnold | Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
For 2024, Brandeis University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences honored students across programs with the annual Graduate Student Teaching Awards. These awards go to graduate student instructors or teaching assistants who have made great contributions in their programs.
The awardees are:
Kayla Cerri, Chemistry
Sarah Dennis, Mathematics
Calvin Fluit, English
Sarah Halford, Sociology
Alex MacNeil, Biochemistry and Biophysics
Savita Maharaj, English
Gowthaman Ranganathan, Anthropology
Emma Sundeen, Sociology
Mercedes Villalonga, Psychology
Michael Wang, Chemistry
Jin Wu, Life Sciences
Wen Zhang, Chinese Language and Culture
Students shared their excitement about winning the awards, as well as shout-outs to those they’ve worked with. Calvin Fluit, the co-recipient of the award for English, said, “It truly means a lot to me to receive this award. I feel like my efforts to foster my student's intellectual and academic growth have been seen and affirmed.” Fluit shared one of his favorite experiences in Fantasy Worlds, the course for which he served as a course assistant: “I adapted a solitaire journaling roleplaying game to be played collectively in class. It included a jenga tower that students had to pull blocks from, and as the game progressed, students got more and more hesitant to volunteer to pull from the tower next. I am so proud of all of the students that were daring enough to try, especially the one that pulled the final block which toppled the tower. It was really rewarding to guide students through that sort of intense roleplay experience…I couldn't be happier with the response it got from students.”
Wen Zhang, who received the award for the Chinese Language and Culture program, said, “Receiving a teaching award means a lot to me; it serves as both encouragement and affirmation of my efforts. I aim for excellence in my teaching work…This has been a rewarding experience for me, and I've learned a lot from both faculty and students, further sparking my passion for teaching.”
Jin Wu of Neuroscience thanked the BIOLAB teaching staff for their support throughout the semester. “As someone who had no prior knowledge of the content of the course and learned the material one to two days prior to teaching it to students every week, I was absolutely surprised to receive this award. I am so grateful to Dr. Deani Cooper, who spent countless hours with me one-on-one patiently answering all my questions on a weekly basis to bring me up to speed. Dr. Piasta's lectures were incredibly clear, and he supported me tremendously throughout the semester. Julia Barrone, as well as my undergrad TA Athena Lam, were also absolutely amazing. I would not have made it without the support of these individuals.”
We extend our warmest congratulations and thanks to this year’s award winners, who will be honored at the 2024 GSAS Commencement reception on May 14.