OSU College of Education Recognizes Top Graduate Assistants for 2017

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

STILLWATER (May 15, 2017) – The Oklahoma State University College of Education has announced its Outstanding Graduate Assistants for 2016-17.

Lisa Lynn Brooks is the Outstanding Graduate Assistant for the School of Teaching and Curriculum Leadership. Brooks is pursuing a Ph.D. in Curriculum Studies with an expected graduation date of December 2017.  She has served as an instructor for Interdisciplinary Curriculum Design and research assistant for the School of Teaching and Curriculum Leadership at OSU. Brooks earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma in 1998 and a Masters of Science in Applied Behavioral Studies: Educational Psychology from OSU in 2001.

“Lisa’s strong and clever sense of humor, her impressive level of theoretical and practical knowledge and her deep commitment to her students have all contributed to fostering her students’ capacity for creative, thoughtful and culturally relevant and social class sensitive curriculum design and pedagogy,” Dr. Erin Dyke, assistant professor in curriculum studies, said.

 

 

Kaia Christofferson is the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant for the School of Applied Health and Educational Psychology. Christofferson is slated to graduate December 2018 with a Ph. D. in Educational Psychology. She has served as a graduate teaching associate for four courses and research assistant for the Educational Psychology program. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Wyoming in 2012 and a Masters of Science in Educational Psychology from OSU in 2015.

“Kaia has been an outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Educational Psychology program since 2014. One quality of Kaia’s our program faculty appreciates and values is that she continually strives to develop as a teacher. She has attended several ITLE seminars and takes a scholarly approach to teaching. She will try different teaching techniques or approaches and then systematically collect data to assess effectiveness. To date, she has four conference presentations based on the scholarship of teaching,” Mike Yough, assistant professor of educational psychology, said.

 

Joseph Currin is the Outstanding Graduate Assistant for the School of Applied Health and Educational Psychology. Currin will graduate August 2018 with a Ph. D. in Counseling Psychology. Currin has served as a graduate assistant where he supervised master’s level clinicians and also served as a research coordinator in the Sexual Health Research Lab. He received a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Distribution from Texas A&M University in 1999, a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Washburn University in 2011 and a Masters of Arts in Psychology from Washburn University in 2014.

“Joe has been able to empower marginalized communities impacted by mental health, public health, and sexual health concerns,” health education and promotion assistant professor Randy Hubach said. “In his role as Graduate Research Assistant, Joe has been instrumental in launching new research endeavors with populations that remain underserved and under researched. “

 

Cameron Mackey is the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant for the School of Applied Health an Educational Psychology.  Mackey will graduate May 2020 with a Ph.D. in Health and Human Performance. He has served as a graduate teaching and research assistant in the Health and Human Performance program at OSU. Mackey earned a Bachelor of Science in Health and Exercise Science from OSU in 2014 and a Masters of Science in Applied Exercise Science from OSU in 2016.

“Cameron is a hard worker and very intelligent. His maturity and professionalism, likely due to his time in the Air Force, has led him to be a model student and teacher for us.  He's been instrumental as a teaching assistant this past year, completely rebuilding two of our undergraduate courses.  In his spare time, he also mentors other military veterans on campus as part of the P.A.V.E. program (Peer Advisors for Veteran Education),” Dr. Jason DeFreitas, health and human performance assistant professor, said.

 

 

Travis Mukina is the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant for the School of Teaching and Curriculum Leadership. Mukina is slated to graduate May 2017 with a Ph. D. in Professional Education Studies with an emphasis on Mathematics Education. He has served as a graduate teaching assistant for the School of Teaching and Curriculum Leadership at OSU and adjunct instructor at Northern Oklahoma College. He is also a graduate research assistant at the Center for Research of STEM Teaching and Learning at OSU. Mukina received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a minor in Middle School Mathematics from Slippery Rock University in 2009 and a Masters of Education in Secondary Education from Hawai’i Pacific University in 2011.

“Students find him knowledgeable, open and approachable. One of Travis Mukina’s greatest strengths is his ability to collaborate and get along with others. We have been impressed with his ability to work with adjunct instructors, professors, other graduate students and undergraduate students,” Dr. Adrienne Sanogo, associate professor in mathematics education, said.

 

Marc Tower is the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant for the School of Educational Studies. Tower will graduate with an Ed. D. in Applied Educational Studies spring or summer of 2018. He serves as graduate teaching assistant in the aviation and space program. Tower received a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering Technology from OSU in 1991 and a Masters in Business Administration from OSU in 2004.

“Marc exemplifies the concept of life long learning. In the academic classroom his approach has been to absorb as much information possible to establish new ways of thinking. He is then able to look at problems from a new perspective, and propose new solutions. His writing reflects a very mature and positive attitude towards life. It is exciting to work with students with Marc’s attributes,” aviation and space professor Steve Marks said.  

 

 

Ying Xiu is the Outstanding Graduate Assistant for the School of Educational Studies. Xiu will graduate in June 2018 with a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Technology. She has served as a graduate teaching assistant for an online course, Application of Media and Technology, and has research experience, working with faculty and graduate students on publications and presentations. Xiu has received multiple scholarships from the College of Education. Xiu received a Bachelor of Science in Educational Technology from Qingdao University in 2012 and a Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Arkansas Tech University in 2013.

“In addition to her excellent teaching, she has taken initiative on several research projects, and has represented us well by presenting research and volunteering at AECT, the primary international conference in our field. She has also served as a resource in the College of Education T.E.C.H. Playground and on the board of the Educational Media and Technology Student Association (EMTSA). She has embraced all aspects of the academic life – teaching, research, and service – and has shown significant growth in all areas since she began our program,” Dr. Penny Thompson, assistant professor in educational technology, said.