Archaeology GTA wins GTA of the Year Excellence Award

News | Posted on Wednesday 4 June 2025

Archaeology GTA, Makenzie Sorenson, has won the GTA of the Year Excellence Award for 2025.

McKenzie Sorenson holding GTA of the Year Excellence Award certificate

Makenzie leads the archaeological theory module with incredible energy and passion. She brings theory to life with fascinating examples from her research and culture, making difficult topics relatable and engaging. Her openness to questions and encouragement creates a supportive environment where students feel comfortable exploring ideas. Beyond the classroom, Makenzie provides extra help and resources, ensuring students succeed with confidence. Her work has made archaeology theory something students truly look forward to.

Congratulations, Makenzie, on this well-deserved recognition for your outstanding contribution to teaching and learning.

The nominations said:
  • Makenzie is a joy to be around and makes every seminar engaging, and furthers our understanding of the subject. She is leading our archaeological theory module, which is a difficult subject and can be dry at times, yet Makenzie has an amazing ability to make every theory relatable and has an example for every question. She engages us with examples from her research and her culture which are fascinating and help contextualise the theory.
  • Makenzie will engage in every suggestion or question with an open mind and will always find a positive spin on your answer even if it's totally bonkers or not quite on the right lines, meaning we have super engaged conversations in our seminar without feeling shy.
  • I don’t think anyone else would be able to engage me in theory or make it so painless. I know everyone in my seminar group looks forward to attending because of Makenzie!
  • Mackenzie consistently goes above and beyond in our seminars, finding book recommendations and examples that will help us understand difficult topics. She also uses examples from her specialism in archaeology so she can explain things through studies she understands in depth. Mackenzie always offers reassurance and answers to any questions outside of seminars as well, which has really helped when writing essays and tackling complex ideas.