“Professor Thoma displayed a care for her students that went above and beyond that of other faculty. She made a great effort to check in with each of us at the start of class, and often incorporated ‘warm-up’ share-outs in class. This fostered a stronger sense of community amongst my peers and I and made me look forward to the class. We would often spend time outside for our labs and Professor Thoma would engage in conversation with us as we passed time in nature. Beyond the classroom, she frequently sent out emails inviting the class to participate in nature walks with her, such as a sunrise walk to Picnic Point. Participating in these extra activities enhanced my overall learning experience because it allowed me to see how the concepts we learned in class were all around me in the real world. I struggle to understand biology, and I found the class challenging. Despite this, I loved it because of the way Professor Thoma made clear its importance in daily life.”
“Throughout the semester, Professor Thoma really took time to get to know her students. She always asked us how our weeks were going and would be extremely understanding if the class needed an assignment pushed back or an exam rescheduled. Also, [Zoology 200] was a really good introduction to UW-Madison which I didn’t really expect. She took us to all these cool locations (Greenhouse, Allen Centennial Garden, Lakeshore Path, etc) and let us explore while also making sure we practiced Forest Bathing which was a central topic for the class. She taught us critical stress management techniques throughout the course, and I try to use those tools today. It was an extremely informative and interesting class, and Professor Thoma really took time to make it engaging and fun as well.”