Meet Lily Guidry, Recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
The Graduate School congratulates Lily Guidry, recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award. This award recognizes the brightest, most industrious of our graduate students who support faculty members in the classroom through a GTA role. .
Lily is a master’s degree candidate in Industrial Chemistry, as well as a top scholar and educator whose contributions were quickly felt in the Department of Chemistry. As a graduate student, Lily uses what she is currently learning through her graduate studies and research to help her students better understand chemistry. She supplements class lectures with lab experiences, videos, and lessons that make complex ideas easier to understand. One notable way she accomplished this was by designing and implementing a computational chemistry laboratory session into the existing organic chemistry curriculum which not only deepened her students’ knowledge but developed her skills and proficiencies in course and curriculum development.
As a MS Industrial Chemistry graduate student, Lily has taught or redesigned four undergraduate chemistry courses. As a graduate teaching assistant for CHEM 107 and CHEM 108, she leads weekly recitations with warmth, clarity, and a commitment to student understanding. She uses pre- and post-recitation assessments to structure the class according to individual students' needs. She also relies on chemical demonstrations and simulations to deepen students’ understanding of the concepts they’re learning. “Lily has an unparalleled talent for breaking down complex scientific concepts, using relatable examples and hands-on demonstrations to make the material more accessible,” says Dr. Tolga Karsili, Associate Professor of Chemistry, in his nomination.
Lily’s dedication to undergraduate learning goes beyond her assigned GTA role. She volunteers to assist with undergraduate academic advising, using her own first-hand experience as a chemistry undergrad at UL Lafayette to guide current undergraduate students. (And Lily was an exceptional undergrad student! She received the Bradd Clark Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research and she was recognized as the Ray P. Authement College of Sciences Outstanding Graduate in Spring 2024 when she earned the BS degree in chemistry.) Faculty in the Department of Chemistry appreciate the mentorship she provides to undergraduate students, noting that she offers the kind of empathy and support helps them stay motivated and succeed.
“Her exceptional academic achievements, dedication to student success, innovative teaching methods, and outstanding interpersonal skills make her an ideal candidate for this honor,” says Dr. Karsili.
Lily, thank you for your commitment to student success and for the many ways you enrich the University’s teaching mission. The Graduate School at UL Lafayette is proud to celebrate your achievements and looks forward to your continued impact as a teacher-scholar in the years ahead.
