Dr. SuJean Choi2018 Teaching Excellence Award

Professor of Biomedical Sciences

Dr. SuJean “Susie” Choi, professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Health Sciences and recipient of a Rev. John P. Raynor, S.J., Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence, says that her motivation for teaching is to prepare her students to be as successful as possible in their careers and their lives.

“I think the important thing is that everyone learns to think on their feet, and that’s what I emphasize in my class,” Choi says. “I teach basic critical-thinking
methods and logical approaches to problems that will serve the students no matter what career they pursue.”

Choi says her teaching style comes from the struggles she had when she was a student.

“I remember what it was like to be on the other side of the classroom,” she says, “and I wish I had someone that would have helped make those connections and allusions for me. There are moments when light bulbs should click, and those came much later for me. Now as a teacher, I am motivated to find ways to address my students’ approaches to learning.”

Choi’s students appreciate her style, her attention to detail and her personal commitment to teaching. In Choi’s nomination packet, one student wrote: “Dr. Choi is able to captivate her class and draw in students; she inspired me to understand the material and to participate. Dr. Choi fuels fascination and inspires learning, even of the most challenging material.”

“As faculty — as teachers —we have a responsibility to these students who we put forth in this world, because they’re the ones who will lead us into the future,”

Choi says. “I may not be directly curing diseases or working with patients, but I want to put forth students who can think on their feet and be problem solvers.”