The Graduate Student Teaching Award honors graduate student excellence in instruction.
Cameron Cook
Cameron Cook is a fifth year PhD student in the Department of Mathematics with research focusing on runner models. He attended UNC–Chapel Hill for his undergraduate degree, taught high school mathematics before attending UT, and is married to Riley Cook. An avid runner himself, he also coaches the UT Running Club.
What does being a Volunteer mean to you? How has UT empowered you to make a difference in a way you might not have imagined elsewhere?
Being a Volunteer means giving yourself and your time to something greater. While I enjoy pursuing my passions and striving for personal success, being a Tennessee Volunteer has allowed me the opportunity to use my strengths to help others succeed. Whether that be through teaching, mentoring, coaching, or actual volunteering, I have been able to guide students in their academic journey, cheer student athletes to the finish line, and help bring purpose to students’ learning.
I love the courses I usually teach, Mathematics for the Life Sciences 1 and 2 as these courses allow the instructor the space to show students how powerful and useful mathematics is in the biological world.
As a graduate student at UT, one of the most meaningful components has been the great autonomy I have been allowed as the instructor of record for Mathematics for the Life Science courses. With the trust and guidance of my advisor, I have enjoyed infusing my teaching style and pedagogical values into these courses.
Huseyin Kose
Originally from Sizir, Turkey. Huseyin Kose is a fourth-year PhD candidate in industrial and systems engineering. His dissertation work focuses on quality and productivity improvements in additive manufacturing. During his PhD, he received the best paper award with his research group given by the Logistic and Supply Chain Division at the 2019 IISE Annual Conference and several fellowship awards.
After graduation, he plans to go back to Turkey and be a university professor. He has secured a faculty position there.
What does being a Volunteer mean to you? How has UT empowered you to make a difference in a way you might not have imagined elsewhere?
Being a Volunteer means leading each other and our community to a better future by making sacrifices for each other.
UT has always helped me improve myself by providing a wide range of opportunities and an intellectual environment.
Holland Prior
Holland Prior is a doctoral candidate in rhetoric, writing, and linguistics. In addition to teaching composition at UT, she has conducted research on student experiences in first-year composition courses and developed curriculum for online writing course modalities.
Holland currently serves as assistant director of composition in the Department of English.
What does being a Volunteer mean to you? How has UT empowered you to make a difference in a way you might not have imagined elsewhere?
My experiences at UT have enabled me to expand my research and expertise in new directions to help empower people to use their voices, and I’ve been deeply grateful for the opportunities to serve instructors and students across our campus through the writing program.