Ph.D. candidate Jennifer Salazar and architecture graduate student Renata Southard were named 2017 Outstanding Graduate Assistants by the University of Maryland’s Graduate School.
Approximately 4,000 UMD graduate students also serve the campus as administrative, research or teaching assistants. The Outstanding Graduate Assistant Award recognizes and honors the outstanding contributions that graduate assistants provide to students, faculty, departments, administrative units and the university as a whole. The award conveys the honor of being named among the top 2% of campus graduate assistants in a given year.
Jennifer, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in urban planning, has been a graduate assistant for the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation for nearly four years. “Jen is dependable, hard-working, professional and creative,” said her faculty sponsor, Heidi Bulich. “I consider her my partner and refer to the class I teach as our class. I feel lucky to have had the chance to work with her.”
Renata is a third-year Master of Architecture student and has been a graduate assistant for two years. “Ren manages the diverse student teams in her section with professionalism and care for every student’s learning experience,” said faculty sponsor, Madlen Simon. “Ren brings her can-do spirit to the course – and backs it up with expertise and dependability.”
Congratulations Renata and Jennifer!