Assisting Your Way to Success
- singaporesparty
- Jan 23, 2015
- 2 min read
Written By Daisy Willis
The Astronomy Club at UH Hilo. Kirsten Laguana is featured center of the photo wearing black. Photo taken by reporter Daisy Willis.
There are many opportunities available to students that can help prepare them for work in their field of study after graduation. The position of teaching assistant is a great way to learn leadership skills, time management, and teaching skills while you are a student. Teaching Assistants are paid students that aid the professors in grading and classroom/lab projects. They are also required to keep an open line of communication with the students taking the class so that they can provide assistance on homework and answer any questions the students may pose.
Kirsten Laguana is an Astronomy student at UH Hilo and is a TA not only for the Astronomy 110 class, but also for several astronomy labs. She has been working as a TA since January 2014 and her general responsibilities include setting up lab stations and preparing the proper materials necessary to execute labs smoothly and providing help answering any questions that any students may have about the labs. She also helps facilitate nighttime observing trips at Hale Pohaku on Mauna Kea near the end of the semester.
Kristen Laguana smiles for a picture on one of her trips to Hale Pohaku on Mauna Kea. Photo provided by Kristen Laguana.
Ms. Laguana spoke out about her experience as a TA, stating that “being a TA has helped me solidify my knowledge of general astronomy by helping to teach students what I know. I am naturally a very shy person, but my job as a TA has helped me develop my social skills as well. I feel that my improved social skills and solidified knowledge of general astronomy and telescopes will help me in more outreach-based job opportunities. I personally think it's important to be able not only to know what I know, but also to effectively pass what I know onto others regardless of their previous knowledge of astronomy.”
One of the professors Ms. Laguana works under also had some interesting things to say about this student employment position. Professor Martin teaches the Astronomy 110 introduction class with Ms. Laguana and is very avid about the positive opportunities being a TA can open up for both the student and the classroom. He says that being a TA improves the student through “interaction with students by answering questions. How to answer questions requires good understanding of the material in the first place, but also how to present answers in different ways that might be more obvious to some students than others.”
Professor Martin teacher of Astronomy 110. Photo taken by reporter, Daisy Willis.
Of course, being a TA is not limited to the Astronomy department. There are many TA positions available and they can be found on the university employment website SECE. A link to the website is provided for any student interested in furthering their understanding of their field and preparing themselves for working in the real-world.
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