TA Of Excellence Award

The TA of Excellence Award is given out yearly to one teaching assistant (TA) who goes above and beyond to provide superb instruction and help to our students. This year's recipient is Matthew Miller for his work in CMPT 215. 

By Ellen Redlick

Matthew has been a TA for classes at every undergraduate level, including and 215, 270, 381, and 481. He says his favourite part of being a TA is "providing one-on-one help, and seeing the spark of joy when a concept clicks for a student!"

It should be noted that the recipient of this award is selected based on student nominations. Matthew's enthusiam for teaching is evident in these nominations:

  • "Matthew's diligence and dedication to the students learning this difficult course has made the difference between burn out and failure and genuine understanding of a subject that does not come easily to me. I cannot think of anyone more worthy of such an award than Matthew."
  • "I had [Matthew] as a TA for Cmpt 270 as well and he is the best TA one can have. He puts so much effort into helping all students. He stays up late helping even outside his lab and help desk hours. He is a saviour."
  • "[Matthew] is very responsive to requests on all the different platforms even at odd hours and provides a very clear explanation of what is going on. His tutorials are also very well prepared and delivered and he has a demeanor that conveys a desire to help. Couldn't imagine it being done any better."

He is currently a Ph.D. student in the Human-Computer Interaction lab, studying with Dr. Regan Mandryk. He is studying how video chat can keep us connected when we are apart. He also completed his B.Sc. at Usask, earning an Honors in Software Engineering.