Duggal, Gomes, Houssou, Kenney, Manivel, and Zhang named Outstanding TAs
Four headshot photographs over a gold Outstanding TA awards banner
Above, left to right: Devraj Duggal, Grace Zhang, Marcella Manivel, and Meagan Kenney. Not pictured: Tara Gomes and Kodjo Houssou.

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (1/26/2024) – Six Mathematics PhD students – Devraj Duggal, Tara Gomes, Kodjo Houssou, Meagan Kenney, Marcella Manivel, and Grace Zhang – have been recently honored with Outstanding TA awards. This award recognizes dedicated teaching assistants who go above and beyond in teaching and mentorship.

“These awards celebrate not just the excellence of these six outstanding teaching assistants but also the commitment of our entire TA staff to undergraduate education. Our graduate students play an essential role in the teaching and mentoring of our math majors and mathematics students university-wide,” Director of Undergraduate Studies Bryan Mosher writes.

Outstanding TA Awardees:

2021 – 2022

  • Kodjo Houssou 
  • Meagan Kenney
  • Grace Zhang

2022 – 2023

  • Devraj Duggal
  • Tara Gomes
  • Marcella Manivel

Marcella Manivel reflects on her TA experience: "One of my favorite aspects about TAing is helping students grow in their mathematical confidence. For instance, during my first semester TAing, I had a student who was terribly intimidated to be in a math class and struggled with feeling like she didn't understand anything. But she regularly came to office hours, was active in class, and grew tremendously over the course of the semester. After winter break, we bumped into each other on campus and when I asked what she was taking, her immediate response was "I'm in the next math class!" It was rewarding seeing how she had grown into being a student who could speak so enthusiastically about taking more math."

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