I was recently awarded the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) Innovation in Teaching Award. This award is given annually to faculty and “[r]ecognizes innovative teaching practices through the eyes of students.” In 2026, the award was given to six faculty members, out of the 600 or so faculty members in the College. I am truly honored and humbled by this recognition, because it is the result of a student nomination (validated by other criteria like course evaluations and a recommendation from my chair). Alena Poulin, FRE Communications Specialist, wrote a blog post about my award: