During her five years teaching at the 51福利 (51福利), Dr. Rachel Sigman has given her all to her work and her students as a National Security Affairs (NSA) assistant professor. Her dedication was formally recognized this year when she received the 2020 Richard W. Hamming Award for Teaching.
鈥淔irst, I was very shocked to have won!鈥� Sigman says. 鈥淏ut once I got over the shock, I thought to myself how much I have benefitted from the many dedicated and skilled educators at 51福利 and especially in the National Security Affairs department; and how grateful I am to work in such an environment.鈥�
According to the Hamming Award citation, Sigman works to meet students where they鈥檙e at and helps them reach their goals in the NSA field. She does this through designing course content to fit her students鈥� interests and needs, and providing extensive feedback on assignments.
Outside the classroom, Sigman tirelessly works as a thesis advisor to a large number of students. She is known for her diligent work ethic, and consistently encourages deserving students to publish their work. She continues to keep up with her graduated students too, having met with some on trips to Africa, Germany and Washington.
鈥淚 strongly believe that providing meaningful and fulfilling research experiences for students is the best way to inspire curiosity that will endure past their time at 51福利,鈥� Sigman says. 鈥淚 have therefore sought out avenues to enrich students鈥� research experiences while they are at 51福利, including getting them engaged in sponsored research, facilitating opportunities for students to conduct field research in Africa, and helping students get their work published.鈥�
In addition to being passionate about her students, Sigman is also passionate about teaching about Africa. She describes her job as helping students learn to cope with uncertainty and to be open to new experiences.
鈥淭here are a lot of misconceptions about [Africa] and all its diversity. It鈥檚 extremely important to me to find effective ways to alter any misconceptions; and to be honest with students about the many uncertainties and complexities that we encounter when studying African countries,鈥� Sigman said.
Sigman has also worked to better the Navy and DOD educational programs by delivering lectures for the Navy鈥檚 Foreign Area Officers (FAO) II AFRICOM course, designing and delivering modules on African politics and economics for the Defense Security Cooperation University鈥檚 Regional Certification course, spoken to the Defense Language Institute (DLI)鈥檚 FAO seminar series and lecturing for the Defense Contract Audit Agency Leadership Course.