Sarah Devereux was a teaching assistant at Marquette University when she taught her first college class.
“I was so incredibly nervous to teach a class because I remember taking public speaking as an undergraduate student and hating it,” said the graduating College of Communication and Information PhD candidate. “But my first introduction to teaching at Marquette was also where I fell in love with it.”
Almost a decade later, the Office of the Provost and the Graduate School at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has named her a recipient of the 2026 Extraordinary Graduate Student Teaching Award. The award recognizes graduate teaching associates who excel in teaching at UT. Devereux was one of three recipients to receive this award across the Knoxville campus. Recipients were formally recognized during the annual Academic Honors Banquet on April 21.
This is the second consecutive year Devereux’s teaching prowess was recognized at UT. She was also named the 2025 College of Communication and Information Graduate Student Teaching Award recipient.
“Sarah is most deserving of this award,” Associate Professor of Communication Studies and CCI Director of College-Wide Graduate Programs Jenny Crowley said. “Whether it is creating extra study materials to help students prepare for an exam or getting students engaged and excited in undergraduate research opportunities, Sarah shows up for her students every day, without fail.”
Devereux celebrated this achievement alongside other CCI faculty who were also recognized at the Academic Honors Banquet.
School of Communication Studies Professor John Haas was the 2026 recipient of the L.R. Hesler Award for Excellence in Teaching and Service Award. The award is presented to professors for their outstanding teaching abilities and service to the university community.
Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations Associate Professor Matthew Pittmann was presented with the Professional Promise in Research and Creative Achievement award, which recognizes tenured or tenure-track faculty who received national and/or international recognition and show professional promise in their fields.
Passion for Teaching
While the seed was planted at Marquette University, Devereux’s passion for teaching grew exponentially once she came to Rocky Top to pursue her doctoral degree.
She said CCI provided her with support and numerous teaching opportunities. This included leading courses on public speaking, interpersonal communication, and business and professional communication as a graduate teaching associate.
CCI faculty’s confidence in her teaching ability was so high they often promoted her to lead 70-student lecture courses—a responsibility typically not undertaken by a graduate teaching associate. Her exemplary performance in those lectures led to a primary instructor position teaching the Research Methods in Communication course during the summer. This course is normally taught exclusively by a tenured faculty member.
Devereux believes CCI faculty’s support and trust has helped her grow as a teacher. She has discovered her teaching style and how best she can support and engage students.
Devereux said, as a student, she appreciates teachers who solicit feedback as they review the material together. She tries to emulate this trait in her classrooms by encouraging open dialogue with her students—both with her and each other.
“I’ve also had really supportive and understanding professors throughout my entire career, people that I can go to and feel like they care about me,” Devereux said. “I try to do that as best as possible.”
She also focuses on practical hands-on learning. For example, while teaching at CCI she created study guides using Kahoot! —an online game-based learning platform— to generate interactive quizzes and/or create crossword puzzles to aid them in learning key terms and concepts in communication theory.
Carrying That Passion Beyond Rocky Top
As Devereux prepares to graduate from the CCI doctoral program this May, she is excited to take her teaching talents to Utah Tech University this fall. There, she will continue her research into interpersonal communication, supportive communication, coping, and stigma.
She said leaving Rocky Top feels bittersweet after many years of warm memories interacting with the students, faculty, and staff at CCI. She hopes to maintain those connections even as she starts her new role in Utah. She already has plans to continue collaborating with CCI faculty on future research projects and reconnecting as professional colleagues at upcoming academic conferences.
“I think that I’m a completely different person from when I started here,” Devereux said. “It’s going to be sad to leave. It does feel like it has become home…I think that UT has really been great in terms of providing amazing opportunities, but also just amazing people to partner with.”