Musaab Al-Bakry

“I was born in Saudi Arabia, but I was raised in my home country, Yemen. I went to school there as well. I grew up as a very socially anxious person. For high school, I went to a type of a boarding school for "motivated" students. In high school, I was able to get rid of a large portion of my anxiety. I also discovered my passion for physics and teaching. In my high school dorm, I was helping some students with math and physics concepts." 

“There are few very vivid memories of my time as an LA and as an LA mentor. I remember my first time as an LA, I stood next to the TA in physics recitations without knowing what I should do or say. That was a very awkward moment for me. Another time was after I finished LAing for APPM Calc 3 workshop. I was not sure about my performance in that class (mainly due to the difficulty of the material). However, one of my students later mentioned that their entire table were discussing that my problem-solving approach helped them a lot in their 3rd and final exams. Another joyful memory was when I was an LA mentor and my mentee made their LA presentation about the LA mentor/mentee dynamics and highlighted how much that helped my mentee in their LA experience." 

"I am currently working on PhD in physics at the University of British Columbia and the TRIUMF facility in Canada. This semester, I will be TA'ing for the first time, so I am quite excited for that experience. I am very interested to see effects of LA pedagogy in helping me become a better TA. For my research program, I am working with the SuperCDMS experiment at SNOLAB. Working at the SNOLAB facility is an amazing experience. The clean lab requirement is a challenge and a point of fascination for me. Added to that, at SNOLAB, I am working alongside amazing researchers and advanced equipment. In short, it is a tremendous learning experience for me."

"When I helped my roommates in high school, I viewed teaching as a hobby rather than a career choice. However, my experience in the LA program showed me that there is a lot that goes into teaching than getting the information pieces across. This made me seriously engage with LA pedagogy. Now, my goal is to use my education and what I learned in my LA experience back to students in Yemen."

"I think being an LA for a subject makes you much more confident about the material of the subject than just taking the course. LA'ing for any subject will help you critically think about the material of the course. Additionally, LA'ing helps you be more involved in some decisions and changes to the course, which can be a kickstarter for leadership career. It also helps you investigate your passion for teaching. You may be the suited for a teaching career without you knowing it yet."