Wilfrid Laurier University is recognizing three outstanding student educators with 2026 Student Teaching Awards of Excellence.
The annual awards program honours undergraduate, master's and doctoral students who have contributed to exceptional learning experiences for Laurier students through thoughtful and intentional teaching approaches.
"The 2026 Student Teaching Award recipients exemplify the meaningful contributions student educators make to the academic experience at Laurier," says Trish McLaren, associate vice-president: academic. "Each of them represents the best of student leadership, mentorship and teaching."
Recipients of the 2026 Laurier Student Teaching Awards of Excellence:
- Ella Annis, Student Success (undergraduate category)
- Brian Seng-Low, Social Work (master's category)
- Jennifer Dobai, Psychology/Community Psychology (doctoral category)
Ella Annis, Student Success
Undergraduate category
As a peer academic coach in the Student Success department, a teaching assistant in a Leadership Foundations course and a dance instructor for a beginner's class at Laurier Recreational Dance, Ella Annis teaches and mentors in several different contexts.
Annis's teaching is grounded in the power of mindset, and the theory that belief in our capabilities has a direct impact on motivation and performance. She recognizes that understanding how to learn is about more than study strategies; it includes learning about the community of supports that are available, learning to trust in yourself and learning to ask for help. Annis's supervisors call her a role model, saying she consciously normalizes the struggles that students can face and empowers them to access supports.
As a member of the Student Success team, Annis hosts one-on-one coaching appointments with students, leads workshop sessions, facilitates and offers advice during Academic Skills Workshops, and runs booths and events in residence and during Thrive Week and Keep Calm and Study On week. She is admired by students as an approachable and trusted mentor.
"I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to both learn and teach at Laurier. Teaching during my undergraduate degree has taught me more about myself than any other experience. A special thank you goes to my colleagues and professors for providing me with these amazing opportunities!"Ella Annis
Brian Seng-Low, Social Work
Master's category
As a graduate teaching assistant in the Faculty of Social Work, Brian Seng-Low is committed to supporting an inclusive, diverse and compassionate learning environment that adapts and responds to students' needs.
A neurodivergent learner himself, Seng-Low notes that while he experienced challenges during his high school education, he also encountered educators who taught differently and created spaces for curiosity, flexibility and engagement. These instructors shaped how he understands teaching and learning, which continues to influence his approach today.
Seng-Low's innovation is exemplified through his creation of short videos and accompanying resources for a third-year mandatory course. The videos extended learning beyond the classroom and reinforced key concepts in an engaging and accessible format.
Seng-Low also delivered two guest lectures, during which the instructor noted "students participated more than I have seen them do all term," and designed and facilitated workshops on communication, boundaries and conflict dynamics. He has helped foster a community of engaged learners by supporting community agency fairs, information sessions, Lunar New Year and Black History Month celebrations, and many other workshops and gatherings.
"Teaching, for me, has always been less about delivering content and more about creating spaces where people can feel comfortable asking questions and making sense of complex ideas. I aim to meet learners where they're at. As such, I regularly connect theory and concepts to real-world practices in a way that makes learning feel meaningful and relevant."
Brian Seng-Low
Jennifer Dobai, Psychology/ Community Psychology
Doctoral category
Jennifer Dobai has been a Community Psychology instructor for two years and a teaching assistant for a Perspectives in Sustainability course for six years. She has supervised two undergraduate thesis students, delivered several workshops outside the university and served as a guest lecturer in other courses a dozen times. Supervisors and students alike praise Dobai's remarkable ability to convey complex information in accessible ways and her caring and empathetic approach.
Dobai strives to create a classroom where perspectives are valid, questions are explored, and students are active participants in shaping their learning. Her training in restorative justice principles has informed her approach to discussions and accountability in the classroom. One student remarked that Dobai "creates a safe environment to express thoughts openly and freely." To create community, Dobai hosts an end-of-term potluck for students and distributes thank you postcards with key concepts from the course.
Dobai's fellow graduate students and teaching assistants value her mentorship, noting she has played a key role in helping new colleagues onboard as teaching assistants and navigate grant writing and project management.
"I'm incredibly grateful to my students, whose openness to engage and co-learn makes teaching so meaningful, and to my colleagues and mentors who have shaped my approach and encouraged me to pursue teaching. This award reaffirms my belief that education is a collaborative and relational process; one where knowledge is built together and grounded in both lived experience and critical inquiry."Jennifer Dobai
