Twelve students recognized as excellent TAs

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (9/5/2025) – At the Department of Chemistry’s Kickoff Seminar on September 4th, 20 Chemistry PhD students were recognized with honors and awards for their excellence and hard work in the 2024-2025 academic year.

12 students were recognized for their dedication and distinction in Teaching Assistant roles for the 2024-2025 academic year. Kate Dallimer, Mikayla Fahrenbruch, Douglas Kavaguti, and Luis Padilla were awarded the Robert L. Ferm Outstanding Graduate TA Award. Undergraduate student Aida Lengeling was awarded the Robert C. Brasted Outstanding Undergrad TA Award. Students submitted nominations for the outstanding graduate TAs:

Kate Dallimer

"Throughout the spring semester, Kate has shown great dedication and enthusiasm in chemistry. When needed, she is always available for questions and offers the right amount of help that allows her students to think like actual researchers during the labs. This is something that a lot of students haven't felt in a long while. This is why having the lab with Kate has brought back so many students' excitement, love, and passion towards chemistry."

Mikayla Fahrenbruch

"Mikayla was an excellent TA who went well beyond expectations to help students during office hours and via email. Her office hours were often standing-room only. Mikayla communicates very well with the students, guides them along without providing answer. She also offered problem-solving sessions before quizzes and final exam. Mikayla did her best to make sure her office hours catered to the students who attended them, and you could tell she cared a lot about our success in the course."

Douglas Kavaguti 

"Douglas is the GOAT of chemistry TAs. He explains concepts very clearly, and has an interest in making sure that everyone is on the same page about different concepts. He will never just give you the correct answer, but he will guide you to it and help you discover the answer on your own, which is infinitely better for our learning. He's happy to give feedback whenever you ask, and is genuinely interested in helping his students do each experiment well. Though CHEM 2311 is a time intensive and (at times) annoying class, Douglas makes me excited to go to class everyday.”

Luis Padilla 

"Luis really has a passion for teaching and helping students understand material. He seems like he really cares about the subject he's TA-ing, which is physical chemistry. He's very knowledgeable and is always happy to explain and discuss material for as long as it takes you to understand it. He engages students with his fun facts and asks us questions to ensure that we're learning. He also always responds to email questions promptly and has office hours at convenient times. He always provides really good feedback that motivates me rather than discourages me."

The 2024-25 TA Award Honorable Mentions are:

• Will Abbey
• Stephanie Castillo
• Ethan Essenfield
• Eryck Garcia Labarca
• David Santiago
• Kevin Schill
• Marissa Zamora

One student, Lauren Way, was recognized for achieving a 4.0 GPA in the 2024-2025 academic year.

Seven students were honored with Excellence Fellowships in recognition of their achievements in the Chemistry graduate program. You can read our earlier announcement of the 2025 Department of Chemistry Fellowships for Excellence in Graduate Studies awardees here.

Congratulations to all!