Melissa Lynes is the 2015 recipient of the Richard Elmore Brown College of Agriculture Graduate Student Teaching Award, which was awarded based on her teaching success as a graduate student.
“I was extremely honored and humbled from winning the award. I know there are a lot of excellent teaching assistants within the College of Agriculture, so it really was an honor to have won among these great students,” Lynes said.
Lynes taught a section of AGEC 120, Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, which is the introductory course to topics in agricultural economics. She also taught a two-week math review course to re-introduce master’s and doctorate students to the math they will need to earn their degree. She had experience as a teaching assistant with associate professor Jason Bergtold’s AGEC 120 class and professor Orlen Grunewald’s AGEC 115, Decision Tools for Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness.
In AGEC 120 and AGEC 115, Lynes aims to make economics tangible to the students, especially for incoming students. She exemplifies how economics are used in consumers’ daily lives and how economics impact business decisions through in-class simulations. In these scenarios, the students act as consumers or producers and buy or sell in the market based on different real-world market criteria, which makes the students think more critically while making business decisions.
The Richard Elmore Brown Award goes to a graduate student with a minimum of one year of graduate work with strong teaching experiences, philosophy, goals and style. Nominees submit educational and work experiences, leadership and involvement in organizations and evaluations. The award is based on testimonials of others, as both faculty and students are able to write letters to express the candidate’s effectiveness in the classroom. Jeff Peterson, professor; and Allen Featherstone, department head and professor nominated Lynes for the Richard Elmore Brown Award.
“What helped me succeed in even being nominated for these awards, was the amazing support of the faculty within the department,” Lynes said. “Whether it was from people who had taught the courses before or just other people who have been teaching for a number of years, just knowing that I could go up to any of them and ask questions and get really good advice and good feedback is amazing. It really helped me feel like I was not alone teaching, I always knew I had the support of the faculty in the department.”
Lynes’ recognition as a graduate teaching assistant stretches beyond the College of Agriculture. She received honorable mention for the Golden Key Award, which is an all-university award to honor outstanding graduate teaching assistants and graduate research assistants. Featherstone nominated her for this award.
Her major professor is Jeff Williams. Lynes earned her bachelor’s degree in sport management at High Point University in North Carolina in 2007. She grew up in Kissimmee, Florida. She recently began working with the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. as Industry Economist for the Energy Information Administration.
