Being Chip Sullivan’s teaching assistant was the highlight of my Sophomore year. I joined Chip, a phenomenal professor and wonderful human being, in his LDARCH 133/233 class that helps students connect with and understand landscapes through traditional art skills. We met weekly for over four hours of administration, lectures, and field sketching around the UC Berkeley campus and, on weekends, ventured to sites around the Bay, including San Francisco and Oakland.

His approach is creative and joyful like no other, fueled by lifelong experience. However, even a tenured professor appreciates extra help with administering grades and attendance and fresh perspectives and feedback on students’ work. In turn, I greatly improved my advising skills and discovered my love of teaching. I even got the opportunity to give a lecture of my own, teaching students about the role of abstraction in sketching!

I am honored to have served this role under one of my role models, and I look forward to many more such opportunities.