Viraj Patel wins Illinois State University’s student teaching award

Indian American student gets the award for “persistent, focused, and purposeful dedication to striving for excellence”

Viraj Patel, a doctoral student and teaching assistant at Illinois State University‘s School of Communications has received its Outstanding University Graduate Student Teaching Award for 2022.

The award for doctoral students who lead classes, recognizes graduate teaching assistants who demonstrate persistent, focused, and purposeful dedication to striving for excellence.

Patel, a second-year doctoral student in the School of Communication, has taught COM 110 and COM 111. His favorite class to teach is COM 110 because he has a love for public speaking and finds a sense of accomplishment when guiding students through the class, according to a university press release.

Read: Associate Dean Rupa Iyer receives University of Houston’s top teaching award (May 19, 2016)

“Public speaking is so overwhelming, so I really like seeing those ‘a ha’ moments in students when they realize they can do this and that it isn’t as scary as they thought it would be,” said Patel.

His motivations as a teacher have aided him in his time as an instructor, the release said.

“The great teachers I have had in the past inspire me, they have helped me to think better, be a better member of society, and showed me through teaching we can all collectively learn and help others learn to be better people and better citizens in society,” said Patel.

Patel has always been heavily involved in public speaking and communication, which became his way of defining himself, and teaching the public speaking course was an opportunity he enjoyed.

“It’s amazing to receive recognition for teaching a subject that means so much to me and especially to be chosen by people who have seen and awarded incredible teachers throughout the years is an honor,” said Patel.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Patel’s areas of teaching expertise include public speaking, rhetorical communication, and media theories.

He recently served as the Program Coordinator in the Office of Orientation Services at Illinois Wesleyan University, helping plan summer and fall semester orientation programs for 400-plus first year students.