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LIT Fellows 2024-2025

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Leadership in Inclusive Teaching Fellows

We are pleased to introduce the 2024–2025 Leadership in Inclusive Teaching Fellows.

LIT Fellows initiate a project during each academic year to support inclusive teaching and equitable outcomes for all students, as outlined in the Stanford IDEAL initiative. Please scroll down to learn more about each of the LIT fellows. 

  • Wing-Sum Law (Department of Mechanical Engineering)
  • Andrew Lin (Department of Mathematics)
  • Skyler St. Pierre (Department of Mechanical Engineering)
  • Kristen Steudel (Department of Mechanical Engineering)
  • Cesar Mena (Department of Biology CMOB)
  • Mikaela Wilson (Department of Biology CMOB)
  • Siobhán L. Bridson (Department of Biology)
  • Aya Mouallem (Department of Electrical Engineering)
  • Pam Stark (Department of Physics)
  • Kimia Saadatian (Department of Psychology) 
     

Wing-Sum Law | Mechanical Engineering

Wing-Sum (she/they) is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering researching shape-changing robotics and flexible mechanisms. Wing-Sum has been a course assistant for ME210: Introduction to Mechatronics and an instructor for ME220: Introduction to Sensors. She has also designed and taught the course Geometry in Art for the Hope House Scholars Program. In teaching, Wing-Sum focuses on meeting students where they are and tailoring content for individual goals. She has found that students succeed when given space to experiment and iterate, encouraging them to connect their pre-existing knowledge to more complex problems.

For her LIT project, she will further develop the STEM Mentor network, a series of workshops to support inclusive mentoring practices for STEM graduate students and postdocs working with undergraduate research mentees.

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Andrew Lin | Mathematics

Andrew (he/him) is a PhD student working in probability theory. He has been teaching in instructor and TA positions throughout his undergraduate and graduate education, as well as contributing logistically to various other educational initiatives. Andrew believes it is important for teachers to be approachable for questions and conscious of how their actions may influence student experiences, and he is excited to explore strategies for increasing accessibility and empowering students to learn more actively.

For his LIT project, Andrew is focusing on tools and methods that facilitate inclusive teaching in math.

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Skyler St. Pierre | Mechanical Engineering

Skyler St. Pierre (they/he) is a Mechanical Engineering PhD candidate. They co-designed ME 233: Automated Model Discovery with their advisor, Ellen Kuhl, using skills learned from ENGR 312: Science and Engineering Course Design. Skyler is excited to continue to develop his teaching skills by helping to revise and lead ME 492 with Sonia and Kristen this upcoming year.

For their LIT project, Skyler, Sonia, and Kristen will implement strategies that support ME teaching assistance training.

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Kristen Steudel | Mechanical Engineering

Kristen is a mechanical engineering PhD candidate in the Neuromuscular Biomechanics Lab. She is passionate about teaching in ways that are accessible to everyone. She began a reading program when she was seventeen for children in her local community and has since tutored high school students. She will be teaching a class for mechanical engineering teacher assistants to learn teaching strategies this year.

For her LIT project, Kristen will lead a training course for mechanical engineering teacher assistants.

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Cesar Mena | Biology CMOB

Cesar is a first year PhD student in the Biology CMOB program at Stanford University. During his undergraduate years at UC Berkeley, he enjoyed his time teaching science classes at Malcolm X Elementary, Berkeley High School, and UC Berkeley. Currently, he is interested in learning about and teaching biochemistry, animal behavior, and neurobiology. He hopes to encourage underrepresented students to find a passion for science and teaching during his time in the BioBUDS program.

As a LIT fellow, Cesar will use BioBUDS's strength as an informal collective to welcome more underrepresented students to the program. 

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Mikaela Wilson | Biology CMOB

Mikaela Wilson (she/her) is a PhD student in the department of Biology. She works in the lab of Dr. Tom Clandinin, studying the function of sleep in the brain and drivers of behavior. Mikaela believes that science should be accessible to help facilitate having an appreciation and mutual respect for the complex natural world we live in. Mikaela co-facilitates bioBUDS (Building Up Developing Scientists) with the rest of the incredible teaching team. As a LIT Fellow, she aims to improve her pedagogy in the hopes of contributing to promoting curiosity and sharing knowledge.

As a LIT Fellow, Mikaela will further invest into her pedagogical skills to inspire curiosity within students and the greater community. 

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Siobhán L. Bridson | Biology

Siobhán Bridson (she/her) is a PhD candidate in the Bergmann Lab in Biology. She is interested in understanding the mechanisms that govern tissue patterns across land plant evolution. Using the stomatal lineage as a model system, she currently studies the molecular mechanisms that detect and respond to variation in plant cell size. Siobhán believes that scientists must make their research accessible through teaching, and that strong mentor relationships are crucial for inclusive training.

As a LIT Fellow, Siobhán will help students to engage and nurture strong mentor relationships as a means of supporting the bioBUDS teaching team. 

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Aya Mouallem | Electrical Engineering

Aya Mouallem (she/her) is a PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering. As a member of the Designing Education Lab, her research focuses on improving the accessibility of engineering education to learners with disabilities. She is currently developing affordances to support blind and low-vision learners in electrical engineering courses. Aya has previously taught courses welcoming undergraduate and graduate students, covering topics such as engineering education, electronics, and digital design for accessibility. Outside the United States, she has taught in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, where she co-founded an award-winning initiative, All Girls Code, immersing hundreds of young girls in STEM programming.

As a LIT fellow, Aya will present the course Improving the Accessibility of Electronics-Based Engineering Education to Blind and Low-Vision Learners.

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Pam Stark | Physics

Pam is a Physics PhD student studying experimental astroparticle physics. Her research focuses on developing quantum sensing techniques for experiments searching for wave-like axion dark matter. For her LIT project, she will be developing a pedagogy curriculum for graduate TAs staffing active learning physics courses. Her primary goal is to provide TAs with the skills to effectively handle the challenges of active learning and support building inclusive introductory physics classrooms.

As a LIT Fellow, Pam will lead a pedagogy workshop for active learning TAs.

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Kimia Saadatian | Psychology

Kimia Saadatian (she/they) is a PhD student in the Department of Psychology. Trained as an interdisciplinary social psychologist, Kimia studies the interplay of power, prejudice, and punitive defaults. Their research focuses on developing evidence-based tools and psychological interventions to reduce punitive attitudes and establish restorative practices in education and criminal justice. Kimia’s passions for studying and practicing inclusivity and equity were inspired by their experience as a neurodivergent student living in different countries and cultural contexts.

Kimia will use her resources as a LIT Fellow to lead psychology TA programs and workshops.

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