The College of LAS has selected winners of this year's teaching and advising awards, including four SLCL faculty members and graduate students. Across the college, 14 professors, graduate students, lecturers, and an advisor have been honored for their service.
"The College of LAS is enormously proud of the recipients of this year's teaching and advising awards," said Venetria K. Patton, Harry E. Preble Dean of the College of LAS. "Teaching and advising has always required devotion, and in today's environment the challenge has been even greater. We're fortunate to have these compassionate, adaptable, and creative individuals working to make futures brighter for our students."
Descriptions of the recipients within SLCL follow:
LAS Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for Graduate Teaching Assistants
Ky Merkley is a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Classics. Ky is recognized for creating space in their classroom where students can broach difficult topics such as race. In “American Race and Ethnicity in the Classical Tradition,” for example, Ky, “created an environment where difficult conversations could transform how students think about race and ethnicity in their own lives,” their nominator wrote. A student praised Ky for unlocking “different perspectives…that we haven't thought about before.” Ky went to great lengths to continue learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, with one student recalling, “When we had to go online, Ky did not give up the sense of community we had gained as a class… They made our class different channels for asking questions, funny pictures relating to Latin, and voice channels for class and group work. Ky went above and beyond for us.”
Carmen Gallegos Perez is a teaching assistant in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese. Before coming to Illinois in 2014, she was an award-winning journalist in Peru. This rich experience allowed her to become a superb instructor, despite never teaching before. Perez has maintained high student ratings, including during the difficult switch to online classes in 2020, when many course ratings dropped. Her students appreciate her use of familiar terms, and she consistently leads her classroom with kindness and a high standard of achievement, encouraging students leave their comfort zones, learn from their mistakes, and to think creatively. One student wrote, “In Spring 2020, the University, and the entire world, faced an incredible shift in teaching. Even with the uncertainty of what may happen next, Carmen made students feel comfortable in their classes. She was accommodating while also keeping students engaged in a time where many wanted to hide.”
LAS Dean’s Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
Daniel W. Leon has taught in the Department of Classics since 2014 when he started as a visiting lecturer. Specializing in Greek and Roman historical narrative, Leon possesses a unique ability to make classes engaging, and his students have attested to that skill in his student evaluations. Leon has also served the department by designing new courses and working to develop a study abroad program in Athens, Greece. Above all, his caring personality and commitment to personal decency have resonated with students. He is known for bringing his teaching subjects to life with hands-on activities, such as using reeds found on campus grounds to make papyrus material that ancient Greeks used for paper. He is known for combining scholarly brilliance with careful preparation and attentiveness, with his nominator writing, “He has a gift for helping students from different backgrounds tap into their own curiosity and thrive.”
LAS Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for Instructional Staff
Raquel Castro Goebel is an instructor in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese. She was a lawyer in her native Brazil, but in the United States she found her passion for teaching her language and her culture to others. Goebel seizes every opportunity for professional development, including the one-month intensive StarTalk Portuguese Teacher Training Program held in Boston, and obtaining program development funds for new course materials. Goebel is praised for her willingness to learn new things, making her an enthusiastic and caring instructor who fosters a dynamic class environment. Her nominator wrote, “Raquel’s contribution to excellence in teaching Portuguese have been recognized nationally and are manifested in several tangible ways: her dedication to students and the positive atmosphere she promotes in her classes, memorable impact on our students’ learning through curricular innovations, amount and quality of engaging extracurricular activities, productive extramural and campus partnerships.”
Christian Jones, Allison Winans, and Dave Evensen
Editor's note: A version of this story first appeared on the College of LAS website.