For Stuart Dees, teaching is about more than helping students become better writers. It is about helping them build confidence, learn from challenges and recognize their own potential.
That approach recently earned Dees, an associate instructor in UCF’s Department of Writing and Rhetoric, the Academic Success Partner of the Game recognition after four UCF football players nominated him.
Dees was recognized during the Knights’ Sept. 26 game against TCU at FBC Mortgage Stadium. The recognition marked the second consecutive year that a College of Arts and Humanities faculty member has received the award.
Dees primarily teaches First-Year Composition courses, including ENC 1101 and ENC 1102. For many students, those courses are among their first experiences at UCF.
“My role is important because my courses, ENC 1101 and ENC 1102, are often among the first courses students experience as they begin their academic journey,” Dees said.
Among those students are student-athletes balancing coursework with the demands of competing at the collegiate level. Dees said the four football players who nominated him have impressed him with their work ethic and perseverance.
“The players are awesome, such hardworking guys,” Dees said. “I really have a lot of respect for them because they show up day in and day out, put in the work, and do their best through the ups and downs.”
Dees said he admires the students’ perseverance and work ethic and learns something new each time he has the opportunity to work with them.
Supporting student-athletes in his classroom means listening, building community, and being flexible, Dees said. His approach to teaching writing also draws on skills that student-athletes develop through their experiences on the field.
“My writing courses are about building confidence and skill, learning that failure is part of development, and recognizing that collaboration and reflection are key, things my student-athletes are already very familiar with from their experiences on the field,” he said.
For Dees, learning that four of his students had nominated him was especially meaningful.
“I was beyond thrilled,” he said. “It’s the best kind of feeling to learn that I’ve made a meaningful impact, that I’m remembered as someone who cares, and that I’ve helped make their academic experience a positive and valuable one.”
Dees said the recognition gave him an opportunity to connect with members of UCF Athletics and see some of his former students in action.
“It was such a wonderful experience,” he said. “Everyone was so nice and it was super cool to be out on the field and chat with all the staff and see my former students in action.”
The experience reinforced what Dees hopes his students carry with them beyond his classroom: confidence in their ability to grow and a willingness to keep learning.
“I hope my students realize that they can achieve anything they genuinely put their minds to, regardless of perceived challenges,” Dees said. “Learning to write is a lifetime sport that takes practice, time and effort. I also hope they recognize that they are already master users of language because language variation is the norm, never the exception.”
For Dees, the Academic Success Partner recognition is ultimately a reflection of the relationships formed in the classroom and the students who make teaching meaningful.
“I hope they know how grateful I am to have received their nomination,” he said.