As a PhD student in government, Angie Bautista-Chavez specializes in American politics and international relations. But that hasn’t stopped her from serving as a teaching fellow for classes in almost every subfield of political science. Her performance in the methodology classes “Survey Research” (Gov 1010) and “Qualitative Research Methods” (Gov 62) is particularly noteworthy: Despite the challenges of teaching difficult concepts and engaging students with dry, technical readings, Angie excelled, earning Q-scores of 4.8 in both courses—significantly higher marks than for the course overall.
“Angie is simply a stellar TF, who consistently went above and beyond the usual when it came to contributing to the course and student learning,” said Chase Harrison, instructor for the survey research class. “She pushes the students who take a quantitative approach to think more about the substance and implications of their models, and she encourages students with more qualitative approaches to measure and compare systematically.”
Frances Hagopian, Jorge Paulo Lemann Senior Lecturer and instructor for Gov 62, shares that Angie stands out from the many TFs she has worked with over the past decade for her work not only in organizing an incredibly complex, challenging, but essential course in the department’s program, but also for her exceptional engagement with learning about every student in her sections and in the class. “Angie knew who among them were first-generation college, who were undocumented, who were sensitive to criticism,” shares Hagopian. “We received many emails from students who thanked us for the course, swearing that without it, they wouldn’t know where to begin to write their theses.”
Among the many positive comments Angie received, one in particular stands out. “Angie was such an excellent TF, I almost don’t believe this is her first time TF’ing for this class! She was so helpful during office hours and really smart about what she does. Section ran like a well-oiled ship—a perfect balance of going over the material and workshop time. Overall, one of the best and most competent TF’s I’ve ever had.”
Department Chair Jennifer Hochschild praised Angie for her willingness to go above and beyond as a teaching fellow and as a thesis advisor. “Given the impact that Angie has had on our undergraduates in a few short years of her teaching apprenticeship,” she says, “I am confident that she will continue to excel as a teacher when she graduates and begins to teach her own courses.”
Angie, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is pleased to present you with the Derek C. Bok Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching of Undergraduates. Congratulations!
Read More about the 2019 Bok Awards
