Nelson Padua-Perez Nominated for Donna B. Hamilton Teaching Award

Senior lecturer Nelson Padua-Perez was recently nominated for the Donna B. Hamilton Teaching Award for excellence in undergraduate teaching for his work in CMSC131.  Each year the Office of Undergraduate Studies recognizes two faculty members campus-wide for merit in teaching. The award is based solely on student nominations and is solicited from across campus. 

Padua-Perez teaches CMSC131:Object-Oriented Programming I, CMSC132: Object-Oriented Programming II and CMSC216 - Introduction to Computer Systems courses.  In addition to this he has also designed and taught CMSC389N: Introduction to PHP and JavaScript and CMSC122: Introduction to Computer Programming via the Web.

“I had Nelson for CMSC 132 and CMSC 216,” said Katie Sullivan, an undergraduate student. “In both classes, he made the lectures enjoyable and interesting. Nelson truly cares about his students. He is deserving of the Donna B. Hamilton teaching award and I am glad he was nominated!”  

Padua-Perez engagement with students goes beyond teaching, he regularly organizes several activities like Coffee hour, Latino group and CS Undergraduate bulletin board with students with a goal to provide an informal environment where students can meet and discuss topics related to their options for classes, research possibilities, career advice and many others with him.  

In recognizing Padua Perez’s contribution in teaching one of his nominations stated: “He made the learning environment enjoyable and really takes interest in his students to make for a healthy learning environment. Thank you for all you have done in and outside of the classroom,”

He has been instrumental in creating electronic forums for the department and the graduate students to create a sense of community. He has coordinated and taught specific programs designed to encourage high school students to pursue computer science as a major. 

“Having Nelson as a professor made a class like CMSC216 so much easier to grasp the concepts from his great understanding of the material, I wish Nelson taught upper-level courses, so I could take a class with him once again,” said Montana Hoover, an undergraduate student.

Padua-Perez also received the Dean's Outstanding Lecturer Award for 2019 by the College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences for his significant and impactful contributions in teaching.