勛圖厙 is recognizing three outstanding student educators with 2025 Student Teaching Awards of Excellence.
The annual awards program honours undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students who have contributed to exceptional learning experiences for 勛圖厙 students through thoughtful and intentional teaching approaches.
“Thank you to the 2025 Student Teaching Award recipients for their outstanding contributions to the academic experience at 勛圖厙," says Trish McLaren, associate vice-president: academic. “As educators, mentors and leaders, they are making a difference to student success.”
Recipients of the 2025 勛圖厙 Student Teaching Awards of Excellence:
Undergraduate category
As an instructional assistant, Antonio J. Rodriguez has worked tirelessly to decolonize Philosophy, open the field to those who have historically been excluded, and foster equity, diversity and inclusion at 勛圖厙.
Through his practice of student-centred critical pedagogy, Rodriguez links his lived experience to course material and makes space to discuss gender, race and colonialism in his tutorials. He also works to bring non-Western perspectives more fully into the classroom, questioning and expanding the Western canon and amplifying diverse voices.
Rodriguez’s enthusiasm for teaching and the subject matter is infectious. Students remark on the positive impact he has on them through their classes and some credit him with their decision to become Philosophy majors. One faculty member noted, “At the end of each lecture, more students line up to talk to Antonio than me!”
Beyond teaching course material, Rodriguez is a mentor to his students, helping them grow as life-long and engaged learners.
Rodriguez says his work as a labour and political organizer and volunteer informs his teaching, prompting him to explore themes of race, class, gender and disability in the philosophical material students are learning.
“I would like to thank the amazing professors who stood by me and encouraged my curiosity and enthusiasm. I would also like to extend gratitude to my students, who teach me as much as I teach them.”
Master’s category
Sarah El-Badawy believes that teaching mathematics isn’t just about delivering content; it’s about fostering curiosity, confidence and connection. She is aware of the fear and uncertainty that some students bring to mathematics and strives to make the subject accessible, engaging and empowering for every student.
El-Badawy’s approach includes personalizing supports for each learner, integrating technology-enhanced learning materials, and creating an inclusive environment where every question is valid and mistakes are seen as opportunities for growth. She is known for going above and beyond, offering extended office hours and providing detailed feedback. For one course, she created a midterm review booklet with key concepts, examples and practice problems. In a survey, 97% of students expressed appreciation for these supports, with many crediting El-Badawy’s help for their improvement and success in the course.
By breaking down complex topics with intuitive explanations, real-world analogies and interactive discussions, El-Badawy seeks to empower students to see themselves as capable and confident problem-solvers. She inspires her students to embrace mathematics as a tool for understanding the world. For many students, El-Badawy is not only an excellent teacher, but a mentor on their academic journey.
“I see teaching as a shared journey and this award is a celebration of the connections and growth that happen when students feel supported and empowered. I’m honoured to have played a small role in that process.”
Sarah El-Badawy
Doctoral category
Cortney Burnham creates a positive environment where students are empowered to participate, ask questions, and engage in independent and active learning. Students remark that Burnham genuinely cares about their success and makes space for diverse learning styles.
At the beginning of a course, Burnham makes a point of asking students about their classroom expectations and acting on their input. For example, in one class students said it was important to refer to each other by names and preferred pronouns, so Burnham introduced name tags. This simple change helped build connections and camaraderie in the class.
Burnham excels at the Socratic questioning method, which seeks to guide students to their own “a-ha” moment rather than providing the answer. Her tutorials in statistics, a course that many students are initially anxious about, are so effective that students ask to be placed in her labs in future terms.
Burnham’s impressive record of professional development in teaching shows she is committed to growing and evolving as an educator. In 2023, Burnham received a 勛圖厙 Student Teaching Award of Excellence in the Master’s category. Her dedication to student success continues to have a positive impact at 勛圖厙.
“I want to thank my students for nominating me for this award. I am honoured to have had the opportunity to teach and get to know you all! Secondly, thank you to my mentors for helping me fine tune my pedagogical approach and for supporting me during my time at 勛圖厙.”
