Meet the 2025-2026 Graduate Teaching Fellows

One of our most important jobs at CETL is helping to prepare graduate students for their roles as educators, both at the University of Mississippi and beyond. Our Graduate Teaching Fellows Program has been instrumental in fulfilling that goal. 

Graduate Teaching Fellows collaborate with CETL staff on our offerings for graduate students and benefit from extensive professional development in teaching. They not only serve as mentors to their fellow graduate TAs and instructors but also explore pedagogical research and organize their own teaching development offerings.

This year, we’re excited to be joined by three Graduate Teaching Fellows:

Amitesh Singh, a PhD student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, re-joins the Graduate Teaching Fellows program after two years with us at CETL. He became interested in pedagogy after serving as a teaching assistant for an active-learning physics course. This year, he’s excited to introduce STEM TAs and instructors to more student-centered teaching approaches and to teach his own section of Integrated Science I, an interdisciplinary survey course for non-science majors. 

Brian Wesley Harrington joins the Graduate Teaching Fellows program from the Department of Leadership and Counselor Education. As a former school counselor and future school counselor educator, Brian Wesley is deeply invested in mentorship, relationship-building, and collaboration in the classroom. At CETL, he hopes to continue his work in these areas and also collaborate with CETL staff on topics like Universal Design for Learning and alternative grading.

Last but not least, Sarah Ligon joins CETL from the Department of English, where she is completing an MFA in creative writing. Sarah has served as a teaching assistant for multiple literature survey courses, and this year is teaching her own section of Writing 101. As a “frequent flier” at past CETL offerings, she’s looking forward to helping fellow graduate TAs and instructors create more vibrant class discussions and explore ways they can motivate students to read and write outside the classroom. 

If you’re a graduate student with a TA or instructor role this year, you may have already met Amitesh, Brian Wesley, and Sarah at Graduate Teaching Orientation. You’ll also hear from them in our Fundamentals of Teaching Learning Community, the Graduate Reading Group, and here on the blog. We look forward to seeing all the great ways they enhance graduate teaching at UM this year!