Meet CETL's Graduate Teaching Fellows!
What kinds of courses do you currently teach or hope to teach in the future?
I currently teach in-person master's level courses in counselor education, including foundations of school counseling, counseling skills, and internship and practicum courses. The internship and practicum courses are especially fulfilling because I get to watch students grow from feeling nervous about seeing clients to becoming confident in their abilities. I thrive on capacity building and mentorship, as I’m deeply invested in relationship-building in the classroom. Foundations of School Counseling is a course near and dear to my heart as a former school counselor and future school counselor educator. In the future, I hope to teach more school counseling-related courses, as well as multicultural counseling, to continue supporting the next generation of counselors in addressing diverse student needs.
What is your favorite part of teaching or TAing?
My favorite part of teaching and TAing is creating a space where students feel empowered to think critically, ask questions, and engage in meaningful discussions. I love guiding students through complex ideas and watching them develop new perspectives on the material. As bell hooks famously said, "The classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy." I love this quote and visit it in my mind often because I see the classroom as a place where transformation can happen not just for the students but for myself as well. There's something deeply fulfilling about seeing the "aha" moments when a student grasps a challenging concept, and even more so when they can apply it to real-world situations. I also appreciate the collaborative nature of teaching. Learning from students is just as important as imparting knowledge to them.
What are you most looking forward to during your time as a Graduate Teaching Fellow with CETL?
I’m most looking forward to deepening my understanding of pedagogy and how to create more inclusive, accessible, and engaging learning spaces. The opportunity to collaborate with CETL staff, who specialize in universal design for learning and teaching innovation topics like alternative grading, is incredibly exciting. I’m eager to explore new tools and strategies that can help me and others become more effective educators. Additionally, I am very much looking forward to supporting my peers as they navigate their own teaching experiences and to refining my own teaching philosophy through feedback and mentorship.