Recently, my project partner, Andrea Swenson, an undergraduate senior majoring in international studies, was packing up her things from a study session at my house when my son’s babysitters knocked on the front door. Maxime Gasteen, a graduate student in international studies and public affairs, and Stephanie Celt, a recent alumna, were generously providing my partner and me with the rare privilege of a night on the town.

“I can’t believe you know Max and Stephanie. It’s so bizarre seeing them in your kitchen; they’re just like normal people,” Andrea gushed as I drove her home before the big date. “They were my International Studies TAs last year. I feel so intimidated. I can’t believe you know them.”

With Swenson’s permission, I passed on her response to the couple in question. They laughed. Who knew being a teaching assistant could lend itself to such celebrity?

In graduate school, it is obvious who has a TA-ship during any given quarter. In our student lounge they are the people passed out on the couch covered in papers with red pen stains on their clothes. If they’re awake, they tend to be guzzling coffee, running at top speed to get to their next class or gossiping about their students (in the most professional way possible, of course).

I interviewed a few colleagues to find out more about the ups and downs of TA life and to solicit any advice they might have for their students.

“Feel free to disagree — there are two stages to learning: being confused and having an opinion,” said Ben Nickodemus, a comparative religion TA. “Both of these stages I embrace; students sitting in a seat blankly with no opinion and no confusion drains all the positive energy from a class.”

When asked about pet peeves, students not doing their reading topped everyone’s list. This is no surprise; however, what may be surprising is that TAs don’t just get angry about students not doing their reading — they feel demoralized.

At my program’s happy hour, the TAs are often hunched over their drinks in the corner, heartbroken because they love the material and they want to pass that passion on to their classes.

“I hate it that all students start packing up at 18 past the hour and at 20 past are scraping their chairs and running out the room. I have been known to shout at them to sit down and shut up,” said Gasteen, who is in his last quarter as a TA. “I went to an English private school, and they are lucky they don’t have to call me ‘sir’ and come to school in shorts all year long.”

TAs are often handpicked by the professor of any given class. The competition is stiff, and the responsibilities of the job can be daunting. Despite this, some students fail to give them the respect the person who assigns their grades deserves.

“On my first day as a TA, I asked my students to turn in an in-class writing assignment. Immediately a student’s hand went up. Not waiting to be called upon, he smirked and asked, ‘Is that so you can feel like a real teacher?’” related Megin Freaney, a comparative religion TA.

Of course, TAs don’t always succeed in teaching or even reaching their students. During our interview, Freaney waved to one of her former students walking by but did not receive a response. She looked confused, and then it dawned on her. “Oh yeah, that guy failed. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of everyone,” she said sheepishly.

Sometimes even the best of intentions are not enough to win over one’s students.

“I hit one of my students in the face with a bag of candy once. The lesson I learned is that giving out candy makes you cool, but trying to act like you’ve got hand/eye coordination when you don’t have any pretty much makes it a wash,” said Jennifer Callaghan, the TA for Introduction to South Asian History.

With the fear of failure, frustration with students who simply won’t read, stage fright, sleepless nights, no time during finals for their own papers and all the other obstacles, one wonders if the job is truly worth it.

“Yes. While sometimes frustrating, the combination of free tuition, a paycheck, a better understanding of the basics of your own discipline and the thick skin that comes with standing up in front of undergrads every week makes for a worthwhile package overall,” Celt declared. “Sometimes you can see their eyes light up as they ‘get’ something important, and it makes you glad to teach.”