CTL's Graduate Fellowship for Teaching Excellence program honors graduate students who are dedicated to excellent teaching and is designed to foster conversations about teaching to help graduate students develop as teachers. Graduate Fellows facilitate teaching workshops in their departments and across the university, observe graduate students teaching and offer feedback, and meet regularly as a fellows group to discuss teaching practices.
Candidates for this fellowship must be nominated by their department; the call for nominations goes out to graduate chairs in the spring semester. For more information about the Graduate Fellows Program contact Ian Petrie.
Current Graduate Fellows for Teaching Excellence
Nursing
Stacey is a third year PhD student at the School of Nursing and MS candidate in Statistics at Wharton. Her dissertation seeks to understand mechanisms that underpin mental health disparities in Hispanic children. Stacey broadly works at the intersection of disability, immigration, and inequality with implications for child health providers. As a teaching assistant or guest lecturer Stacey has supported many courses at Penn Nursing, spanning topics from global health to pediatric psychiatry to nursing ethics. As a teacher, Stacey is excited by community and civic engagement, active learning, reflective practice, and accessibility. She is especially interested in strategies to integrate simulation and didactic learning into clinical settings that promote health equity. Prior to her doctoral studies and clinical training at Penn, she completed a dual degree in International Relations and Biology at Tufts University. Stacey’s scholarship is supported through the Hillman Scholars of Nursing Innovation, the Institute of Education Sciences and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
Mathematics
Thomas is a fifth-year PhD candidate and NSF Graduate Research Fellow in the mathematics department. His research focuses on the interplay between enumerative geometry and homotopy theory. He received a joint BA/MA in mathematics from Johns Hopkins University prior to coming to Penn. He was named a “Master TA” in the mathematics department, and has been an instructor for Princeton Prison Teaching Initiative, as well as Penn Summer Prep where he designed and taught a course on voting theory. In the mathematics department he is a co-founder and co-organizer for the Directed Reading Program, which pairs undergraduates with graduate students for independent studies. He was named a 2021 Dean’s Scholar, and has previously worked for CTL and the School of Arts & Sciences as part of the inaugural 2021-2022 cohort of Graduate Fellows for Equitable and Inclusive Teaching.
Italian Studies
Deion is a fourth-year PhD candidate in Italian Studies. His research focusses on the intersections of the intellectual histories of Italian feminism and political philosophy. Deion has taught beginner and intermediate Italian classes and his teaching interests include second-language pedagogy, inclusion of diversity, equity, and inclusion into the syllabus, and recentering the language classroom around the student. Deion grew up in Sydney, Australia and received a BA in Italian and Classics from Georgetown University.
Higher Education
Elizabeth Dunens (she/her) is a 4th year PhD Candidate in the Higher Education Division of PennGSE. Her current research focuses on shared governance and postsecondary leadership in challenging organizational environments. She has served as a TA and summer instructor for the PennGSE courses "Case Studies in Higher Education" and "Faculty and Academic Governance". Prior to joining Penn, Elizabeth worked with faculty, students, and nonprofits to facilitate community-based research and experiential learning as Associate Director of Service-Learning at St. Catherine University. While at St. Kate's and as a grad student at the University of Minnesota, she also had the opportunity to teach eight semesters of first-year undergraduate courses focused on the liberal arts, social justice, and student development. Elizabeth is particularly interested in pedagogical practices that foster community-building, student engagement, and democratic dialogue, in the classroom and beyond.
Physics & Astronomy
Jesse is a PhD candidate in the Physics and Astronomy department. His research focuses on how granular materials, like sand, cars, or people, can suddenly clog as they flow through an outlet. He has assisted teaching much of the introductory and laboratory physics curriculum at Penn, and is an instructor with the Penn Experimental Physics Research Academy during the summers. His interest is in making physics accessible and connected to our everyday lives. A big part of making physics accessible is to make it inclusive, which Jesse has facilitated through his position as co-president of the physics department outreach group and mentoring local high schoolers in physics.
Computer and Information Science
Paul is a fifth year PhD candidate in the Department of Computer and Information Science. His research in the field of programming languages aims to help software developers write more reliable software. His projects often involve computer-verified proofs to formally specify and verify properties of computer programs. Before starting his PhD, Paul completed his Bachelor of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. At Penn, he has been a TA and instructor for several courses in the CIS department, including a class on C++ programming which he designed. He is especially interested in how mathematical thinking is taught in computer science curricula and using active learning approaches in the classroom.
East Asian Languages & Civilizations
Bryce is a fifth-year PhD candidate in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. He works broadly on the art and material culture of China, and his dissertation focuses on the practice of burying objects inside Buddhist relic pagodas in southeast China during the tenth and eleventh centuries. At Penn, Bryce has served as a TA for the undergraduate courses Introduction to Chinese Civilization, Introduction to Japanese Civilization, Arts of China, and East Asian Art and Civilization. In this capacity, he has led numerous object-based recitation sections centered on the collection of the Penn Museum. As a CTL fellow, Bryce is excited to continue conversations with his peers about active and inclusive learning.
Sociology
Tessa is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology, where she studies religious groups’ investments in the field of higher education in the early 20th century. Her research interests include organizational decision-making, social stratification, and qualitative research methods. Tessa earned her B.A. in Sociology from UChicago and worked in affordable housing before moving to Philadelphia in 2016. She has experience teaching courses including Introduction to Sociology, Methods of Sociological Research, and Sociology of Media and Popular Culture. She is passionate about making the tools of sociology accessible to students.
Communication
Tyler is in his fifth year of a joint-PhD in political science and communication. His research considers the role of media in democracies, with a particular focus on how new and developing media change the ways in which people talk about and make sense of politics. At Penn, Tyler has served as a TA for undergraduate political science classes like Public Opinion and American Democracy and Statistical Methods for Political Science. He also teaches a summer course through Penn Summer Prep called Fantastic Politics, where he uses popular sci-fi/fantasy worlds like Star Wars and Harry Potter to help students understand contemporary political issues. Prior to Penn, Tyler earned an MA in Education Policy through Erasmus+ and undergraduate degrees from the University of Georgia in International Relations and African Political Development. He first fell in love with teaching as a swim lesson instructor for toddlers and has over a decade of teaching experience across various contexts.
Political Science
Chloe is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Political Science Department. Her research examines religious, racial, and electoral politics in the U.S. and Brazil. She holds a B.A. in International Comparative Studies (ICS) from Duke University, where she graduated with Highest Distinction after her senior honors thesis “‘Last Stop Destination’: Poverty, Anti-blackness, and University Education in the Mississippi Delta and Brazil’s Baixada Fluminense” co-received the ICS 2018 Distinguished Thesis Award. While at Penn, she has served as a TA for four political science courses: Intro to American Politics, Intro to Comparative Politics, International Politics of the Middle East, and Race and Ethnic Politics. As a CTL fellow and lover of knowledge, she aims to both facilitate and learn from classroom settings where students and instructors exchange ideas with one another.
Biostatistics
Jeremy Rubin is a third-year Penn Biostatistics PhD student in the Perelman School of Medicine. He received a M.S in Biostatistics from the Perelman School of Medicine, and a B.S. in Statistics and Mathematics from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Jeremy's current research focuses on predicting clinical outcomes from kidney biopsy images. He developed his passion for supporting students in higher education through serving as a teaching assistant (TA) at UMBC for over three years across five courses. At Penn, Jeremy has also had the opportunity to work with graduate students through being a TA for HPR 604: Introduction to Statistics for Health Policy, as well as BIOM 610: Data Analysis for Life Science. In 2022, he received the CTL Teaching Certificate. Jeremy is ecstatic about the opportunity to continue developing his teaching abilities, and ultimately support diverse post-secondary students in introductory mathematics and statistics courses.
Comparative Literature
Michael Martin Shea is a fifth-year PhD candidate in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory, where he studies US and Latin American poetry, politics, and cultural production. His dissertation project focuses on poetic representations of visionary and mystical practices from the 1970s to the 1990s as part of a hemispheric response to the neoliberal turn. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Mississippi and a BA in English and Philosophy from Florida State University. Before coming to Penn, he taught classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the University of Mississippi, and the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina), where he served as a Fulbright Fellow. At Penn, he has been a TA for English and Romance Language courses, and has led both literature and foreign language classes. He has also co-directed the Poetry and Poetics Working Group and the Intensive Reading Group.
Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics
Jessica is a 5th year PhD candidate in the MEAM department advised by Dr. Cynthia Sung. Her research is focused on passively morphing aerial robots, and she has enjoyed mentoring many undergrad researchers. Jessica received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland, along with a minor in Technology Entrepreneurship. During her undergrad she got to run office hours and assist with labs for an introductory programming course for mechanical engineers, where she enjoyed facilitating hand-on learning. At Penn, Jessica has been a TA for MEAM520 for two semesters and MEAM211 for one semester. In addition, as a CTL TA trainer for both the 2021 and 2022 cohorts, she has designed and led workshops on Leading Problem Solving Recitations that emphasize active learning techniques. Jessica is excited to continue to develop her teaching through discussions and seminars this year.
History
Alexandra (Sasha) Zborovsky is a third-year PhD student in the University of Pennsylvania’s history department. She graduated from the Ohio State University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Art in History and English Literature. Currently, her doctoral research examines the diaspora of almost two million Jews from the former Soviet Union in the second half of the twentieth century. She investigates Soviet Jews’ desire to depart and the circumstances—ranging from the Cold War to Soviet antisemitism—fueling that aspiration. Her project also connects this movement of peoples to over one century of Jewish emigration from Eastern Europe and to the formation of modern migration policy. Sasha has also served as a teaching assistant for the ever-popular “Cold War: A Global History” course and a grader for the “Napoleonic Era and Tolstoy” seminar. Outside the university, Sasha has been published in The Washington Post and interned both at the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities. As a Center for Teaching and Learning fellow, Sasha hopes to further hone her teaching skills. First drawn to academia in hopes of teaching students at a university level, she encourages classroom settings that foster collaboration, critical thinking, and infectious enthusiasm.
Current Graduate Fellows for Inclusive & Equitable Teaching
Political Science
Abigail is a fifth-year joint-PhD student in political science and education policy. Her research examines political knowledge, efficacy, and trust and how more democratic and equitable civic education curricula and pedagogies can improve political outcomes for young people. As an instructor of record or TA for eleven undergraduate and graduate courses at Penn, Abigail has been awarded the Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Penn Prize for Excellence in Teaching by Graduate Students. She is a former K-12 teacher committed to co-creating knowledge with students through inclusive and active educative experiences.
Mathematics
Jacob (he/him) is a fourth year PhD candidate in the department of Mathematics in the School of Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on the geometry of Riemannian manifolds which have many flat directions at every point. Before coming to Penn he attended Penn State where he received degrees in mathematics and in physics. At Penn he has been a TA for linear algebra, undergraduate algebra, and calculus in addition to teaching his own calculus course over the past summer. He is also in his fourth semester of mentoring for the Directed Reading Program, a group that brings undergraduates and graduate students together.
History of Art
Coming soon
Linguistics
Bethany Swann is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the English department studying Asian diasporas and contemporary poetry and poetics. Her dissertation proposes a theoretical framework for tracking psychoanalytic modes of dissociation in lyric conventions across an archive of 21st-century Asian American writers. Before arriving at Penn, she taught English composition and literature classes at a number of colleges and universities. At Penn, she taught a writing intensive course in the pre-first-year summer program and served as a TA for Asian American Literature and Culture. She looks forward to teaching a seminar course about Lyric Wreckage and the Climate Crisis this spring. Bethany holds an M.Div from Yale University and an MFA in poetry from Indiana University. As a GFEIT fellow, she's excited to connect with others who are passionate about incorporating radically inclusive pedagogy, in and out of the classroom.
Linguistics
Johanna is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the linguistics department. Her research focuses on the morphology and syntax of German. Johanna’s teaching interests include accessibility, modern and equitable implementations of academic rigor, and methods for critical and analytic thinking. She grew up near Frankfurt, Germany, and holds a BA and MA from the University of Leipzig.
Chemistry
Sebastian is a fourth-year PhD Candidate in the Chemistry department. His research focuses on modulating post-translational modifications (PTMs), specifically acetylation and ubiquitination. Using proteolysis targeting chimeras as proof of concept, he seeks to selectively install these PTMs through the potential of chemically induced proximity. Before starting his PhD, Sebastian served as an alumnus mentor and assistant coordinator for Regis High School and the REACH program respectively where he focused on accessibility to secondary and higher education for underrepresented students. At Penn, Sebastian has served as a TA for the Chemistry department, a graduate fellow for both PennFERBS (First Exposure to Research in the Biological Sciences) and the Chemical-Biology Interface Training Program, and is a member of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics DEI committee.
Previous Graduate Fellows for Teaching Excellence
Ada Aka
Psychology
Natalia Enid Aponte Borges
Earth & Environmental Science
Lauren Bridges
Communication
Alexis Crockett
Neuroscience
Abigail Dym
Political Science
Taylor Dysart
History & Sociology of Science
Marisa Egan
Cell and Molecular Biology
Sheng Gao
Statistics
Tony Liu
Computer and Information Science
Mercedes Mayna-Medrano
Hispanic Studies
Jane Robbins Mize
English
Paradorn (Joe) Rummaneethorn
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Kimberly White
History
Angela Xia
Religious Studies
Matt DeCross
Physics and Astronomy
Mohammad Fereydounian
Electrical and Systems Engineering
Shivajee Govind
Chemistry
Lauren Harris
Sociology
Antoine Haywood
Communication
Davy Knittle
English
Kristina Lewis
Education
Zachary Loeb
History and Sociology of Science
Theodora Naqvi
Classical Studies
Bruno Saconi
Nursing
Adam Sax
Comparative Literature & Literary Theory
Zachary Smith
Political Science
Daniel Wilde
Management
Tamir Williams
History of Art
Sonia Bansal
Bioengineering
Emilie Benson
Physics
Irteza Binte-Farid
Education
Alexandra Brown
Romance Languages
Rui Castro
Architecture
Joseph Cooke
Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics
McFeely Jackson Goodman
Mathematics
Erynn Johnson
Earth & Environmental Science
Karren Knowlton
Management
Erica Lawrence
Biology
Alexis Rider
History & Sociology of Science
Anna Leigh Todd
History
Rachel Wise
History of Art
Naomi Zucker
Anthropology
Cameron Anglum
Education
Phoebe Askelson
Chemistry
Elizabeth Bynum
Music
Ava Creemers
Linguistics
Dana Cypress
English
Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach
Comparative Literature
Maryam Khojasteh
City and Regional Planning
Alex Miller
Operations, Information and Decisions
Samantha Oliver
Communication
Ryan Pilipow
Ancient History
Katerina Placek
Neuroscience
Brian Reese
Philosophy
Didem Uca
German
Shantee Rosado
Senior Graduate Fellow
Diego Arispe-Bazán
Anthropology
Chelsea Chamberlain
History
Welton Chang
Psychology
Danielle Hanley
Political Science
Kathryn Hasz
Mechanical Enginering & Applied Mechanics
Elaine LaFay
History & Sociology of Science
Mark Lewis
Education
Santiago Paternain
Electrical & Systems Engineering
Steven Renette
Art & Archaeology of the Mediterranean World
Maria Ryan
Music
Hao Jun (Howie) Tam
English
Noa Hegesh
East Asian Languages & Civilizations
Joseph Hoisington
Mathematics
Najnin Islam
English
Erika Kontulainen
German
Theo Lim
City & Regional Planning
Elena Maris
Communication
Paul Mitchell
Anthropology
Stan Najmr
Chemistry
Trishala Parthasarathi
Neuroscience
Rebecca Rivard
Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine
Shantee Rosado
Sociology
Jane Sancinito
Ancient History
SaraEllen Strongman
Africana Studies
Helen Teng
Nursing
Osman Balkan
Political Science
Katie Clonan-Roy
Education
Mitra Eghbal
Biology
Naomi Fitter
Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics
Alison Howard
Comparative Literature
Jin Woo Jang
Mathematics
Dianne Mitchell
English
Jake Morton
Ancient History
Raha Rafii
Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations
Kyle Smith
Chemistry
Tim Sowicz
Nursing
Kelsey Speer
Cell & Molecular Biology, Perelman School of Medicine
Kristian Taketomo
History
Bronwyn Wallace
Senior Graduate Fellow
Justin Bernstein
Philosophy
Ben Chrisinger
City & Regional Planning
Peter Sachs Collopy
History and Sociology of Science
Lili Dworkin
Computer and Information Science
Ian M. Hartshorn
Political Science
Alice Hu
Classical Studies
Jacob Nagy
Chemistry
Emmabeth Parrish
Materials Science and Engineering
Tanya Singh
Biology
Colin Smith
Neuroscience
Phillip Webster
Religious Studies
Vanessa Williams
Music
Richard Eisenberg
Computer and Information Science
Lindsey Fiorelli
Philosophy
Jay Lucci
Classical Studies
Rose Muravchick
Religious Studies
Sal Nicolazzo
Comparative Literature
Rebecca Pierce
Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
Irene Sibbing Plantholt
Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Bridget Swanson
German
Bronwyn Wallace
English
Tanya Weerakkody
Neuroscience
Eric Bellin
Architecture
Derek Blackwell
Communication
Carolyn Chernoff
Education and Sociology
Wiebke Deimling
Philosophy
Emily Gerstell
English
Bryan Jones
Romance Languages
JR Keller
Management
Matthew Kruer
History
Peter-Michael Osera
Computer and Information Science
Olivia Padovan-Merhar
Physics
Will Schmenner
History of Art
Max Topaz
Nursing
Madeleine Wilcox
East Asian Languages and Civilizations
Ursula Williams
Chemistry
Megan Potteiger
Senior Graduate Fellow
Claire Bourne
English
Rosella Cappella
Political Science
Meghan Crnic
History & Sociology of Science
Daniel DiMassa
German
Jen Gerrish
Classical Studies
Rachel Guberman
History
Beth Hallowell
Anthropology
Grace Lavery
Comparative Literature
Tara Liss-Marino
Communication
Emil Pitkin
Statistics
Melanie Adley
German
Adam Aviv
Computer & Information Science
Carolyn Brunelle
Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations
Andrew Crocco
Communication
Britt Dahlberg
Anthropology
Glenn Holtzman
Music
Catherine Kopil
Neuroscience
Shimul Melwani
Management
Megan Potteiger
Chemistry
Miranda Routh
History of Art
Charles Thomas
Physics
Bryan Cameron
Romance Languages
Barbara Elias
Political Science
Rosemary Frasso
Social Policy & Practice
Jessica Lautin
History
Nathaniel Prottas
History of Art
Amanda Reiterman
Art & Archaeology of the Mediterranean World
Nicole Ruedy
Operations & Information Management
Paul White
Mechanical Engineering
Megan Phifer-Rixey
Senior Graduate Fellow
Drew Hilton
Computer and Information Science
Greta LaFleur
English
Peter Mondelli
Music
Roberto Salguero-Gomez
Biology
Clayton Shonkwiler
Math
Nicole Myers Turner
History
Noah Drezner
Education
Daniela Fera
Chemistry
Sarah Manekin
History
Megan Phifer-Rixey
Biology
Angelina Stelmach
Romance Languages
Brandon Woods
English
Kate Baldanza
East Asian Languages and Civilizations
Andrew Knight
Management
Sarah Manekin
History
Melody Mark
Ancient History
Jennifer Pastore
Biology
Deniz Selman
Economics
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