Amanda Stadermann is the recipient of the PTYS Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for Fall 2019. Amanda worked with students in Assistant Professor Kristopher Klein's section of PTYS/ASTR 170A1, Planet Earth: Evolution of the Habitable World. In support of the award, Professor Klein wrote, "This was the first class I have taught at the University of Arizona, and Amanda was an excellent GTA to provide support while I learned many of the pedagogical ropes of teaching a large enrollment course. Amanda provided advice on how to effectively keep track of the administrative elements she had learned from her previous GTA experiences. This assistance was invaluable. In addition to executing assigned TA duties like grading, Amanda gave two course lectures (and created the presentation for one of those lectures).

Amanda's objective as a TA is to "encourage science-inclined students to consider planetary science, and encourage science literacy among the students with inclination toward other subjects." To this end, she served as an exemplary ambassador to the students in the class; each of the half-dozen students who regularly attended her weekly office hours received an "A" grade. According to Professor Klein, Amanda "is an unceasing advocate for the students, and her work in my class demonstrates her aptitude for scientific education and outreach." Recipients of the Outstanding GTA Award receive funds of up to $1,000 to support travel to a professional meeting of their choice. Amanda also received the 2020 College of Science Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring award for LPL.