Awards for outstanding Graduate Student Instructors and Instructional Aides of 2020/21

Hammad Ahmad

EECS 481, Software Engineering
Winter 2021

“Hammad was extremely helpful in helping the course succeed, especially during a fully remote semester.”
– Course instructor Kevin Leach

Emily Bao

EECS 441, Mobile App Development for Entrepreneurs
Fall 2020

“Emily did a TERRIFIC job as a GSI for EECS 441! She was a most effective GSI – posting material, responding to student questions, and supporting faculty.”
– Course instructor Elliot Soloway

Yunseok Jang

EECS 498, Deep Learning for Computer Vision
Fall 2020

“Yunseok had some very good advice on Piazza and helped clarify key questions during the exam.”
– Student feedback

Julia Lanier

EECS 183, ​​Elementary Programming Concepts
Winter 2021

“Julia is an all-around all-star and a hugely successful GSI of the many we have seen teach EECS 183. Julia takes ownership over her many roles in teaching an introductory CS course to hundreds of students. She delivered the highest quality instruction to her students inside the virtual classroom and in office hours. In the significant behind the scenes work that GSIs perform Julia is remarkable in her level of professionalism and attention to detail, delivering the seamless student experience that Michigan students expect of their courses.”
– Course instructor William Arthur

Eashwar Mohan

EECS 494, Computer Game Design and Development
Fall 2020 & Winter 2021

“Eashwar was simply spectacular this year– in the face of the pandemic, he was flexible, empathetic, and tremendously supportive of our students. Beyond his responsibilities and contributions to EECS 494, he also has substantial extracurricular contributions that were a boon to our community during a challenging time.”
– Course instructor Austin Yarger

Jule Schatz

EECS 183, Elementary Programming Concepts

Fall 2020 & Winter 2021

“Jule went above and beyond in every way teaching the EECS 183 Comprehensive Studies Program (CSP) section. She led the design of a new curriculum, focused on community even through the barriers that remote learning put up, inspired the other student teaching staff in every team she was part of, and laid the foundations for the CSP section to be sustainable over the long term.”
– Course instructor John Kloosterman

Megan Shearer

EECS 598, Introduction to CSE Graduate Studies
Fall 2020

“Megan is knowledgeable, well prepared, and a strong communicator.”
– Student feedback

Muhammed Uluyol

EECS 491, Introduction to Distributed Systems
Winter 2021

“I wholeheartedly support Muhammed’s nomination. He often spent more than his allocated time helping students in his office hours, he was very generous in answering student questions on Piazza, and his feedback on exam drafts was very helpful. Muhammed’s performance as a GSI was particularly notable given that he was serving as a GSI in the Winter after becoming a Dad in December.”
– Course instructor Harsha Madhyastha

Yuxi Xie

EECS 482, ​​Introduction to Operating Systems
Fall 2020 & Winter 2021

“Yuxi gives inspiring and thoughtful suggestions on the project and foundational course concepts, which I really appreciate.”
– Student feedback

Bandar Al-Dhalaan

EECS 203, Discrete Mathematics
Fall 2020

“Bandar was great; I understood the material much better after his labs”
– Student Feedback

Natalie Brotherton

EECS 280, Programming and Introductory Data Structures
Winter 2021

“Natalie is an OUTSTANDING staff member.  Just one example of her work includes helping to revamp the EECS 280 website to streamline student access to materials during COVID.  Another contribution was adding emoji with hover text for each staff member highlighting their interests.  This was another way to connect with students during remote teaching.”
– Course instructor Andrew DeOrio

Kareen Faisal

EECS 481, Software Engineering
Winter 2021

“Kareen was extremely helpful in helping the course succeed, especially during a fully remote semester.”
– Course instructor Kevin Leach

Skyler Ning-Fong Hau

EECS 183, Elementary Programming Concepts
Fall 2020 & Winter 2021

“Skyler has been an excellent teacher for our students immediately after joining the EECS 183 teaching staff. In addition to being recognized by students as an excellent teacher in the classroom, Skyler is remarkable in his dedication and support of students in office hours and on Piazza. He has also served as a model to his peers, helping them to achieve success in their work as student teachers.”
– Course instructor William Arthur

Austin Kiekintveld

EECS 482, ​​Introduction to Operating Systems
Fall 2020 & Winter 2021

“Austin was the most helpful and exceptional staff member.”
– Course instructor Baris Kasikci

Zahra Makki

EECS 183, Elementary Programming Concepts
Fall 2020

“Zahra has done excellent work teaching EECS 183, in particular with the Comprehensive Studies Program (CSP) section and office hours and the course student support team. She models the care for students and inclusive perspective that all of us teaching introductory CS aspire to.”
– Course instructor John Kloosterman

Amber Elizabeth Renton

EECS 494, Computer Game Design and Development
Fall 2020 & Winter 2021

“Amber was simply spectacular this year– in the face of the pandemic, she was flexible, empathetic, and tremendously supportive of our students. Beyond her responsibilities and contributions to EECS 494, she also has substantial extracurricular contributions that were a boon to our community during a challenging time.”
– Course instructor Austin Yarger

Alexandra Isabel Saavedra

EECS 370, Introduction to Computer Organization
Winter 2021

“Alexandra was awesome and totally deserves the award. In addition to doing her regular duties in an excellent manner, she came up with a new idea of doing project walkthroughs which was very popular with students.”
– Course instructor Reetuparna Das

Thomas Smith

EECS 482, ​​Introduction to Operating Systems
Winter 2021

“Thomas was knowledgeable and helpful.”
– Student Feedback

Vaughn Taylor

EECS 482, Introduction to Operating System
Fall 2020

“Vaughn was extremely helpful during office hours and he seemed to care a lot about the students.”
– Student Feedback

Maryam Younus

EECS 485, Web Systems
Fall 2020

“Maryam has been a main-stay of the EECS 485 staff.  She was instrumental in making remote teaching work well for students.  I can’t speak highly enough of Maryam.”
– Course instructor Andrew DeOrio