We are highlighting all of the great work that our graduate assistants perform around our campus by featuring the nominees for the 2022 Graduate Assistant of the Year Award.  This award is coordinated by the Career Center, which works with the Graduate School to pick the winner of the award.  We were so impressed by all the nominees that we are going to feature them on our blog.  Congratulations to all the nominees!

Gabriel Beratio, nominee for Ball State’s 2022 Graduate Assistant of the Year Award

For the 2021-2022 academic year, Gabriel worked as a GA to support the Department of Elementary Education in the Teacher College .  Gabriel performed tasks for the professional learning series micro-credential modules, conducted research on educational topics, assimilated information into digital spaces, and developed social media campaigns.  Gabriel was nominated by Dr. Kate Shively and Dr. Holly Hullinger-Sirken, and they wrote “Gabe promotes equity in all that he does, ensuring that all aspects of our projects are diverse and representative of all stakeholders who will engage with the content. He is our technology guru, in that he continually advances our projects through the facilitation and utilization of technology-related platforms. Gabe is a natural collaborator. He is punctual, timely, and organized. His dedication to the work that he completes is always of the highest quality.”

Q & A with Gabriel

What was the most valuable part of your assistantship experience?

For me, I think the most valuable part of my assistantship experience is helping to create professional programs that help teachers not just from Indiana, but from every corner of the country as well. Creating lessons for teachers to navigate technology in their classrooms is a very fulfilling experience because I know that what I do helps so many. With COVID changing how we look at online teaching, understanding how to use certain technologies is such an important part of what it means to be a great teacher.

How do you think your GA assignment has helped you to grow as a professional and a student?

A great thing about my assistantship is that I learn how to use pure research and turn it into applicable outcomes. Through my assistantship with Elementary Education, I learned how to use what I found from my literature reviews of pure research and apply it to what we are looking for. Furthermore, I have learned to work not just with my department but with other departments as well. For example, we work closely with Emerging Media Design and Development (EMDD) to help create the graphics and designs for our professional learning series micro-credentials. Working with EMDD has been great because it allows me to see a different perspective that I may not have even realized. Overall, I’ve learned a lot in the past 2 years as a GA.

Is there anything else you would like to communicate about your experience as a GA?

Being a GA can be tough because of your commitments as a graduate student. However, my experience has been a very fulfilling one. I have worked with my Primary Investigator, Dr. Kate Shively, for almost 2 years now, and I have learned so much from her about what it means to be a teacher in an age where technology is so important. I have learned so much from working with so many other teachers, and I appreciate the trust that they give to me as their GA. I wouldn’t trade this GA job for any other!