Nominated by students Antoine Decressac and Cecilia Danielsson 

Maeve Heneke is the person I want to nominate. She was teaching the Approaches to Study and was the very first teacher I had in about 40 years and the first contact I had with university education. As a mature student I was extremely worried I would feel out of touch, academically deficient. From day one she focused on what I could do well and gently (but firmly) pointed at the areas I could improve upon. She would sit with every single student and review face to face the assignments, explaining the grade received, going through every point that would help improve our skills. Emails were always answered. Maeve is a tough grader but fair and entirely committed to the success of the students she teaches. I left the course confident that I could do well in academia and she is the reason I am still studying at Birkbeck. 

I came back to Higher Education because I was recovering from a serious brain injury. Maeve had taken a great deal of interest in my personal health situation, especially as I had acquired a condition that made speech and language production frustrating. She gave polite and encouraging feedback about my piece, saying that it was enjoyable. However, she had the difficult task of delivering a critical analysis to a student recovering from trauma, who also needed positively to re-examine the tenets of their capabilities. Without dressing up her thoughts, or sugaring the pill, she had the skills of being direct as quickly and effectively as possible. She was so trustworthy, the only action I could initiate was to absolutely take her at her word, and follow her advice. I am now completing my final year, and Linguistics forms a large part of my life. I plan to continue studying an Applied Linguistic Masters after graduation and plan to do a Ph.D. around my interests in Neurolinguistics. Without the initial support of Maeve Heneke, it is doubtful I would have continued past the first year.