The 2023-2024 Dean’s Outstanding Teaching Assistant Prize for the best performance by a BSD graduate student who is TAing in fulfillment of the Divisional Teaching Requirement was awarded to both Jason Cheung (Public Health Sciences) and Grace DiRisio (Neurobiology).
Jason Cheung is a third-year student of the graduate program in Public Health Sciences. He receives the prize in recognition of his teaching assistantship in PBHS 30910, Epidemiology and Population Health, in Autumn 2023. In comments, students reflected that he went above and beyond the typical roles of a TA and that he had great explanations for difficult topics in class. One student commented “Jason is an amazing TA. Definitely I had important gaps of knowledge, and he never gave up to help me understand the material in the most interesting and simplest way possible!” Another student commented, “He comes to each discussion section prepared and enthusiastic to foster learning and a fruitful discussion. He engages his students. He goes above and beyond to help us feel prepared for the course, taking excellent summary notes for us to reference.” Finally, another student commented, “Jason is, seriously, the best TA I've ever had throughout undergraduate, medical school, and now graduate school.”
The BSD teaching prize was established in 1996 by the faculty Committee on Teaching Assistants in appreciation and recognition of the enthusiasm and effort that graduate students put into their early teaching experiences. Award of the prize is based on nominations by the students in the course taught by the TA. This year, the decisions were very difficult, as 111 teaching assistants were nominated by their students for the Prize, with 402 total votes; this is a tribute to the dedication of our graduate students as they take on the role of teaching assistant, and illustrating the value placed on teaching in the BSD. Congratulations to all winners!