Teaching Assistant Experience
Before becoming an instructor of record, I served as a teaching assistant at Northwestern University during my first master's program.
Northwestern University (2012-2013)
The Global City
I served as Teaching Assistant for The Global City, taught by Stephen Harding, across three terms: Winter 2012, Winter 2013, and Summer 2013. This graduate-level course, offered through Northwestern's Master of Public Policy and Administration program, examined urbanization, globalization, and the evolution of cities as central nodes in the global economy.
As a TA, I led regular discussion sections, graded assignments, held regular office hours, and worked closely with master's students to help them understand complex theories of urban development, economic geography, and global economic systems. The course drew students from diverse professional backgrounds—many were mid-career professionals seeking to understand urban policy challenges—which taught me how to adapt explanations to different levels of prior knowledge and varied professional contexts.
Working with graduate students who brought real-world policy experience to the classroom showed me the value of connecting abstract theoretical concepts to practical applications, an approach I've carried forward into all my subsequent teaching.
My teaching as a graduate student TA received strong student evaluations, exceeding the tenure-track faculty average at Northwestern. Full evaluation details are available on the course evaluations page.