Stories

The Louis and Dorina Brutocao Award for Teaching Excellence

The Louis and Dorina Brutocao Award for Teaching Excellence recognizes outstanding faculty who:

• Promote intellectual curiosity and active learning;
• Model and foster intellectual rigor and honesty and a zest for learning;
• Develop connections between course material and life outside the classroom; and
• Are available to students, attentive to their needs, and enjoy the teacher-student relationship.

This award honors teachers who, over a period of years, have made a real difference by:

• Serving as exemplars in the Santa Clara, Jesuit tradition of service;
• Challenging their students in ways that have forced them to look at the world afresh;
• Exerting a major influence over the intellectual and moral development of their students; and
• Making an imprint that is still felt in some way years after graduation.

Brian Thorstenson consistently creates a supportive, enriching, and challenging learning environment. His students have quite a lot to say about this learning environment and about Brian-- describing him as “unforgettable,” “supportive,” and “fabulous.” They speak highly of his encouraging nature, and how they always feel seen and heard in his classroom, even online during the height of the pandemic. Some go so far as to say he changed their life, with one alum describing how “he has the unique ability to transform how we see and engage with the world, especially as social justice advocates and artists.” Many of his former students, now working as professionals in the performing arts, credit him for both their continued love of playwriting and their confidence to pursue the field professionally.

Originally published on the SCU Office of the Provost website.