A Ph.D. Candidate in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lauren Gaspar is the ATL’s Graduate Student Spotlight for December 2024.

What is your proudest teaching moment?

My proudest teaching moment was with a student I tutored at my undergraduate university, UMass Dartmouth. He was a very impressive student who spoke over 5 different languages and was hoping to become a medical translator but one algebra class was preventing him from doing so. We spent hours each week together working through concepts and problems and by the end of the semester, we had raised his grade from failing to passing with flying colors. He went on to become a medical translator at a nearby hospital later that same year.

Who is a teaching mentor, and what did you learn from them?

One of the greatest teachers I ever had was Dr. Timothy Su at UMass Dartmouth. Not only is he incredibly brilliant, but he is one of the kindest and most passionate people I have ever met. From him, I learned that a great teacher is one who challenges their students while keeping the fun and passion for a subject alive in their classroom (and that science is real magic).

What is a difficult moment that you learned from in the classroom? What did you learn?

Recently as a TA, I’ve learned that teaching students how to learn a subject is just as important as teaching the content itself. After a majority of my class did not do so well on an exam, I sent a survey asking about study techniques they used and found a majority of them felt they had not known how to go about sorting the material and using the tools they had to effectively study. Now with each class, I try to go over study suggestions and provide a timeline of how I would review the material myself. I feel this helps provide students with the ability to not only do well in the current class, but build skills that they may apply as they move forward in their education.

What is one piece of teaching advice that you have received that you would like to pass on to others?

The best piece of advice I have received was “if you already knew what you were doing, there would be nothing to learn”. This advice was given to me in the context of being too hard on myself when I was struggling to understand or teach a certain topic. I think it’s important for students and teachers alike to remember that we are all here to learn and improve ourselves and that cannot be done without making mistakes. No learning process is perfect and often we learn the most from the struggles we face along the way.

What are the three qualities that you think make for a great teacher?

I think a great teacher is dedicated, passionate, and adaptive. The best teachers are those that not only show up every day ready to share their knowledge, but work with their students to do so in a way that’s best for everyone.

How do you relax after a long day of teaching?

After a long day, my favorite thing to do is to sit on the couch and read a good book or watch a tv show. For books, I highly recommend anything by Emily Henry or Abby Jiminez and for tv, my go to show is always Schitt’s Creek.

What do you like to do for fun?

It might make me sound boring to re-say that my favorite thing to do for fun is reading but it’s the truth! Aside from that, I love listening to Taylor Swift, going to yard sales with my mom, and planning road trips with my best friend.