2025 Departmental and Centennial Teaching Assistant Awards
Our Teaching Assistant Awards are an important highlight of the annual calendar, emphasizing Stanford's dedication to teaching excellence not only by faculty but also by very talented graduate students. TAs are graduate students who lead review sessions, grade homework and exams, hold office hours, and in many other ways assist both the professor who teaches the course and the students who take it. Some of these individuals make extraordinary contributions, and for that reason these students were enthusiastically nominated by faculty and students, and even their peers, for truly notable service this year.
Departmental Teaching Assistant Awards
- Paula Gablenz — "provided invaluable advice... and helped me in countless other ways small and big"
- Xavier Gonzalez — praiseworthy patience, answering questions and adapting his answers to match each student
- Amber Hu — "contributed more to my learning experience at Stanford than any other individual"
- Henry Smith — "extremely conscientious, proactive, and well prepared"; "the strongest TA in 10 years"
The Centennial Teaching Assistant Award
Every two years students may also be nominated for the university's Centennial Teaching Assistant Award for excellence in teaching. The Statistics Department is proud to celebrate the achievements of two of our TAs who have been selected to receive a Centennial Teaching Assistant Award in 2025.
Asher Spector has a long track record of excellence as a TA, having won this award two times previously. It is a pleasure to see him receive a Centennial Award in recognition not only of his contributions in the past year but during his entire career at Stanford. Students commend Asher for his ability to give crystal-clear explanations of complex topics while being kind and empathetic. He has consistently earned evaluations above 4.8 in STATS 200. In addition, instructors praise him for being helpful with course logistics, with one instructor commenting "13/10 would work with him again." He has also been a core member of the team that is transforming the probability curriculum, developing a diagnostic assessment for STATS 200 to help students measure their own preparation for the course.
Will Hartog has been the solo instructor as a graduate student for four courses at Stanford, a department record. His students praise him for fostering curiosity and creating a supportive learning environment, where even those without a strong background in math or programming feel empowered to succeed. He has pursued many opportunities to improve his own teaching, participating in the Stanford Teaching Certificate program and the "Preparing Future Teaching Professors" program. He has also improved teaching at Stanford as a member of the team that is transforming the probability curriculum, rethinking what sections should be in an age of AI.
We're incredibly proud of all these students: congratulations!