2025 TA & Future Faculty Awards
On March 10, 2025, the Center for Teaching and Learning hosted the annual TA and Future Faculty Awards Day Ceremony to honor Teaching Assistants (TAs) at Georgia Tech. This ceremony celebrates excellence in teaching throughout the Institute and acknowledges the invaluable role TAs play in shaping the minds of students and enriching the academic community at Tech.
The TA & Future Faculty Awards recognize TAs who receive Thank-a-Teacher notes; Graduate Teaching Fellows; International Teaching Assistant Liaisons; participants of the Tech to Teaching program; and Outstanding TA nominees selected by their respective schools.
The Thank-a-Teacher program began in November 2005 and provides students with an opportunity to give feedback to outstanding teachers, teaching assistants, advisors, and mentors. In 2024, over 200 TAs received notes thanking them for their hard work, dedication, and support of students.
Graduate Teaching Fellows are a cohort of graduate students from various disciplines who work with faculty in the Center for Teaching and Learning in support of TA and future faculty programs. International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Liaisons support ITAs across campus through classes, consultations, orientations, and more. This year, 11 Graduate Teaching Fellows and 6 ITA Liaisons were recognized at the ceremony.
The Tech to Teaching program prepares graduate students and postdocs for college teaching positions. Participants who complete the foundation level of the program receive a CIRTL Associate Certificate; in order to complete the entire Tech to Teaching program, participants must then teach or co-teach a course for their teaching capstone. Seventy-four program participants were recognized for receiving their CIRTL Associate certificates and 46 were recognized for successfully completing the entire Tech to Teaching program.
As part of the celebration, the Center for Teaching and Learning hosts the annual “TA Awards,” a competition that culminates at the end of the ceremony with the announcement of 15 institute-wide winners. To be recognized as an Outstanding TA in the TA Awards, schools must nominate teaching assistants for consideration; nominees must then submit endorsements from faculty, staff, and students. Each Outstanding TA is recognized at the ceremony with a certificate. From this list, final winners are selected by a review committee and announced at the ceremony. The 15 institute-wide award winners each received a $500 stipend and a framed certificate thanks to the generous endowments of the Class of ’57 and Class of ’72.
The 2025 award winners are listed below by award category.
Graduate Student Instructors:
Marwan Shagar, School of Building Construction
Maugan Lloyd, School of Psychology
Minghao Li, School of Mathematics
Graduate Teaching Assistants:
Alessandra Luna, School of Biomedical Engineering
Lin Yang, School of Economics
Steven Tarr, School of Physics
Online Head Teaching Assistants:
Fatih Ilhan, School of Computer Science
Nathan Do, School of Computer Science
Weizhe Shen, School of Mathematics
Online Teaching Assistants:
Andrew Hamby, School of Computing Instruction
Melissa Leng, School of Mathematics
Yasaman Gholami, Vertically Integrated Projects
Undergraduate Teaching Assistants:
Benedict Pursell, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Kavya Selvakumar, School of Computing Instruction
Mariah Castillo, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry
On behalf of the Center for Teaching and Learning, we extend our thanks to all Georgia Tech teaching assistants. Thank you for striving for excellence, innovation, and inclusion in your endeavors, and may you continue to pursue your passion for education.
View the full digital program with the names of everyone recognized.
