Our own Jessica Lu, the Associate Director of DCC, has been awarded the Donna Hamilton Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. As many of you know, Jessica has gone above and beyond to create a rich learning experience during the pandemic and has repeatedly demonstrated a deep care for her students in this time. Anyone who has taken one of her classes knows, she is completely student-centered and devotes a significant amount of her time to connecting authentically with DCC students, understanding their contexts, and creating a learning environment that meets them where they are at.
This teaching award is based solely on student nominations, which are solicited from across campus. From the many nominations received, the selection committee was most impressed by the student experience in her courses HDCC106: Seminar in Design Cultures & Creativity, HDCC208O: Seminar in Digital Cultures and Creativity; Critical Data Modeling, and HDCC209C: Capstone in Design Cultures and Creativity.
Here are some short excerpts from her student Nominations:
“Jessica has helped me appreciate not only the course material and subject matter, but also what it means to be a student. I am much more mindful of my effort and attention, and thanks to her I have a healthier balance between my work/school life and my extracurricular/leisure life.”
“Jessica’s teaching philosophy is immensely respectful of students as adults and individuals. Her trust in students to do what they are able to and share what they feel comfortable with is incredibly liberating and enriching in the classroom setting.”
Congratulations to Dr. Lu!