Wojtek Gornicki, a Ph.D. candidate in Transcultural German Studies, is the College of Humanities 2025 Outstanding Graduate Assistant in Teaching Award recipient.
Since joining the Ph.D. Program in Transcultural German Studies in fall 2019, Gornicki has been a graduate student representative, assistant language program director, an instructor of German in all teaching modalities (online, hybrid, face-to-face) and in the faculty-led study abroad program, Arizona Summer Study in Leipzig, Germany.
“In all these functions, Mr. Gornicki has exemplified professionalism and collegial generosity, and he has evolved into a true leader among the GATs in our department,” wrote faculty nominators Peter Ecke, Janice McGregor and Thomas Fuhr. “The difference that Mr. Gornicki has made in mentoring junior teaching colleagues and students, developing (online, hybrid, and in-person) classes, teaching materials and assessments, and problem-solving has been unmatched by GATs over the last few years.”
Gornicki has become known as the “online-teaching wizard” for the German language program, having collaborated in the creation of four online German courses, which significantly increased enrollments in those classes.
“Not only did he help to develop the courses themselves, he served as the first instructor and guinea pig for two of the courses, and consulted with other instructors, as they piloted new materials. Mr. Gornicki took the lead in exploring new uses of the technologies available to make sure that these asynchronous classes remained engaging and interactive,” wrote the faculty nominators.
Gornicki has also excelled in his own teaching, at all levels in the basic language program, as a co-teacher for large online language classes, and also as a TA for larger courses.
“He is an extraordinary GAT whose professional integrity, kindness, and leadership skills have set him apart. We believe that for his steadfastness in putting his humanities and applied linguistics training into practice and into service for the department and the college, Mr. Gornicki represents the excellence we strive for in the College of Humanities,” wrote the faculty nominators. “During his Ph.D. studies, he has contributed to the German Studies department in ways that will have a lasting influence on the program and its people.”
Several students wrote in support of the nomination, with one highlighting Gornicki’s ability to make students comfortable speaking German in class through simple discussions that could transform a silent classroom into a lively and talkative one.
“Something I always appreciated about Wojtek’s classes, both on the U of A campus and while abroad in Leipzig, was how well he was able to answer questions and explain things to students. Any teacher should, of course, be able to answer their students' questions, but over my time taking language classes, I have seen that there is a big difference between being able to speak a language and knowing how to teach it,” wrote one student.
“Wojtek is a fantastic teacher, who reminds us what education entails,” wrote another student. “He always found ways to keep us involved and allowed us to interact with the course material in innovative ways. With Wojtek, every lesson felt like a new foray into German culture and history. His passionate yet empathetic instruction inspired my fellow students and me to put forth our best effort.”