Graduate student teaching assistant (TAs) form an essential part of the teaching team in EEB. In appreciation of their valued contributions to undergraduate education, three of them are selected each year for EEB Outstanding TA Awards. For 2025-2026, the prize recipients stood out for their thoughtfulness, care, and commitment to pedagogy.

They are:

• Charlotte Grieve (Fortin Lab) for outstanding work in EEB268H1: Plant and Microbial Diversity
• Martin Henry (Stinchcombe Lab) for exceptional work in BIO251H1: Form, Function and Development in Plants
• Tony Xie (Chang Lab) for excellent work in BIO120H1: Adaptation and Biodiversity

Beyond having their work in the classroom recognized, what do these three most enjoy about teaching?

“As a TA, I enjoy sharing my curiosity and love for the natural world with others. Ecology is exciting, and I try to remind my students of that,” says Grieve. Henry cherishes the moment things fall into place in a student’s mind: “My favourite thing about teaching is when you help a student connect the dots and they make a breakthrough on a challenging topic. I love sharing my passion for plants when I teach, and it warms my heart when students tell me they learned something new and exciting!” Xie appreciates “supporting students in their first steps into ecology and evolution,” adding, importantly: “This was my first year as a TA, and I learned just as much from my students as they (hopefully!) learned from me.” 

As Nicole Mideo, EEB’s associate chair, undergraduate, emphasizes, “We (and our undergraduate students) are lucky to have these awardees teaching in EEB!” Congratulations to all of them!