The New School for Social Research Celebrates Its Outstanding Graduate Student Teachers
“The university student body and faculty benefit enormously from having thoughtful and motivated students who are experts in their subject area lead discussion sections or design and teach entire courses themselves,” said Richard Kessler, provost and and executive vice president for Academic Affairs, during the fall welcome reception held by The New School for Research (NSSR). “Teaching assistantships and fellowships are an opportunity for our graduate students to cultivate skills that will serve them well in their academic studies as well as offices, labs, government, and many other professions—skills like how to listen, balancing conversations, and knowing how to explain something in just the right way.”
Provost Kessler was at the reception to honor the six graduate students who were selected to receive the 2024–2025 Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Awards. NSSR has presented this award since 2015, recognizing honorees for their contributions.
“The six recipients have been selected for their ability to guide thought-provoking and respectful discussion on the social sciences and philosophy, to connect complex topics to students’ lived experiences; and to create supportive, engaging, and compassionate learning environments,” said NSSR executive dean Alex Aleinikoff in a message to the community.
The honorees were selected from more than 30 graduate teaching assistants and teaching fellows nominated by students and faculty from all schools across the university.
About the 2024–2025 Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award Recipients
Matteo Burrell, PhD Philosophy student
“Matteo is, without exaggeration, one of the most thoughtful and knowledgeable teachers I have had, at The New School and beyond. He approached our 8:00 a.m. Modern Philosophy class with unmatched enthusiasm, professionalism, and expertise, even taking the time to email us useful secondary literature after class discussions and always making himself available to discuss assignments and philosophy in general. His engagement with my assignments were careful and rigorous, giving me the groundwork to continue working with the topics in a serious scholarly manner after the semester’s conclusion.”
—Nominator from Eugene Lang College
“His passion, dedication, kindness, and care for each individual student are unparalleled in any teacher I’ve ever had. He approaches philosophy and education in a way that is creative, challenging, and inspiring. Every single minute in class has been transformative.”
—Nominator from Eugene Lang College
Jan Hendricks, PhD Economics student
“Jan’s teaching style is distinguished by his skill in connecting theoretical frameworks to contemporary issues. His lectures seamlessly bridged foundational concepts, such as the Gold Standard and the Banking versus Currency School debates, with modern financial developments, including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi). By contextualizing historical theories within today’s global financial landscape, Jan empowered students to understand the relevance of these ideas beyond the classroom. Most importantly, Jan creates an inclusive and supportive classroom environment. He actively encourages diverse perspectives, facilitates open dialogue, and treats every question with respect.”
—Nominator from NSSR
“Not only did his lectures clearly have an immense amount of effort behind them, he was able to catalyze passionate discussions on complex topics that made people new to the material feel confident to participate.”
—Nominator from NSSR
Hong B. Nguyen, PhD Cognitive, Social, and Developmental Psychology student
“From the very beginning of the semester, Hong distinguished herself by her clarity, patience, and unwavering support for her students. She is personable and generous, and it’s clear she genuinely cares—not just about the quality of her teaching, but about the well-being and growth of each student she interacts with. She listens deeply, encourages participation without pressure, and fosters an environment of mutual respect and curiosity. Her teaching style is never top-down; instead, she gives us autonomy while providing consistent, reasonable support, striking a rare and effective balance between structure and freedom.”
—Nominator from Parsons School of Design
“Overall, Hong is one of the best professors I’ve ever had. I would take her classes again without hesitation. Thanks to her guidance, I feel more confident, capable, and excited for what lies ahead.”
—Nominator from Eugene Lang College
Ian Potts, PhD Clinical Psychology student
“Ian Potts has thus far been the most influential and positive teaching force in my time at The New School. As an undergraduate psychology major hoping to go into the field of therapy, I was very excited to enroll in the Abnormal Psychology course, and upon introduction in the first class, Ian’s presence and expertise on the topic was clear. His mixture of relatability, digestible slides on complicated subject matters of psychology disorders and diagnosing, and his willingness to answer any question and encourage the class to make connections in class fostered a fantastic learning environment for a psychology course and was instrumental in expanding my psychological course knowledge. I think Ian is a superstar in the psychology department and was very inspiring to me to want to reach his level and attempt to be as positive an influence in the therapy office as he clearly is. He has not only taught me essential information pertaining to the course’s subject matter, but also elevated my understanding of previous coursework and fostered connections within my personal life through his method of teaching (his class was also the only class I did not miss a lecture for throughout the entire semester).”
—Nominator from Eugene Lang College
Clover Reshad, PhD Politics student
“I had the pleasure of taking Clover’s class Politics, Theory, and Emotion, and I will say it has been one of the most insightful classes I have ever taken. She is extremely knowledgeable in her field and the way she talks about politics makes it seem ever so simple (it is not). Throughout our course, her engagement with our class was obvious. She would take the time to make sure that what we were reading was most beneficial to the concepts we were learning. The course material was extremely well suited for the topics we studied. What’s more was her ability to connect these concepts to not only present-day issues but historical events that truly solidified her ideas. I hope to have the pleasure of learning from her again.”
—Nominator from Eugene Lang College
Mónica Salmon Gomez, PhD Sociology student
“Mónica took extraordinary care with her students, reaching out to me for pedagogical mentorship in moments when students were struggling or she wasn’t sure how to handle a tricky situation. She also enthusiastically attended meetings that I held with the other teaching fellows and with our full-time and part-time faculty, taking any opportunity to learn and get ideas from fellow instructors. It is very clear that for Mónica, teaching is not simply something that is part of the job when training to become a professor; it is part of her political practice.”
—Nominator from the Schools of Public Engagement