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NEON Hosts Inaugural Teaching Fellow Awards

Jan 22, 2026

Inaugural

Teaching Fellow Awards

NEON’s inaugural Teaching Fellow Awards Ceremony celebrated and honored teaching fellows from across our network of 17 colleges and universities for the care, leadership, and impact they brought to more than 9,000 students last semester.

The evening is a chance to recognize the hard work, commitment to students, and the incredible effort teaching fellows put into every part of the course experience.

 

Watch the Ceremony

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NEON’s inaugural Teaching Fellow Awards Ceremony celebrated and honored teaching fellows from across our network of 17 colleges and universities for the care, leadership, and impact they brought to more than 9,000 students last semester.

Most Outstanding Teaching Fellow

Recognizes a teaching fellow who consistently goes above and beyond in instruction, communication, teamwork, and overall excellence.

  • Robayet Hossain | Jeffrey Careyva | Carys Chard

  • Matt Jenkins | Narelle Shen | Hardeep Patel

  • Aminah Coleman | Bitania Molla | Beatrice Olivier

  • Arabelle Park | Elle Butler | Claire Wang

  • Emma Roncoroni | Jesus Robles | Carol Garcia

  • Heather Ringo | Nandhini Parthasarathy | Khyati Jain

  • Connor Halleck-Dube | Abbas Muntaqim | Karita Nyugen

  • Marq Riggins | Shital Oli | Owen Grahiling

  • Charis Couch | Edward Sun | Cherise Fuller

Rising Star

Recognizes a first-semester or early-career teaching fellow who shows strong growth, enthusiasm, adaptability, and promise.

  • Shawn Shin | Oscar Liew | Alma Hernandez

  • Risav Ganguly | Samya Walker | Emily Li

  • Emily Domek | Lucia Balestrieri | Dalym Booker

  • Nadia Farmer | Emma Hudkins | Alena Chen

  • Ali AbuBakr | Chris Waters

Collaborative Excellence Award

Honors a teaching fellow who exemplifies teamwork, reliability, openness, and strong communication within their teaching community.

  • Isha Goyal | Hailey De Los Santos | Seyi Keitku

  • Maddie Vercher | Adin Choung | Joseph Spak

  • Connor Halleck-Dube | Janet Yang/Yue Liu

  • Zoe Shepard | Karita Nguyen | Jackson Buckner

  • Shawn Brooks | Anh Tran | Lily Lazar

  • Ranee Brady | Zoe Way | James Holder

Perseverance in Practice

Honors a teaching fellow who has shown exceptional resilience and dedication when facing challenges, maintaining high standards while supporting their students and team.

  • Bhavana Reddy Kanthala | Zoe Cain | Nahdia Parks

  • Steven Markman | Jesus Robles | Telijah Patterson

  • Aubrey Gross | Kathan Parag Shah | Alyse Wicentowsk

  • Elizabeth Koenck | Stephanie Rivera-Kumar

Committed to the Cause

This award honors teaching fellows who have served across multiple courses, demonstrating exceptional adaptability, commitment, and professionalism. These recipients embrace new challenges with enthusiasm, applying their teaching skills and collaborative spirit to diverse learning environments. Through their ongoing engagement and willingness to contribute wherever needed, they exemplify what it means to be a dedicated and mission-driven educator within their university course teams.

  • Shital Oli | Anh Tran

  • Alloe Mak | Montana Tamny,

  • Jesus Robles | Evelyn Christina Wiredu

  • Brandi Mayo

The Legacy Award

This award celebrates teaching fellows who have made a sustained and meaningful contribution to a single course over multiple semesters. These recipients’ long-term involvement has helped shape the course’s continuity, culture, and success. Their deep understanding of the curriculum, consistent mentorship of new fellows, and commitment to ongoing improvement have left a lasting mark on the teaching team and the students they have supported semester after semester.

  • 106 Legacy Teaching Fellows

  • 20 Courses

  • 10,000+ Scholars Served