Learning Resource Center (LRC)
Tutoring Services

    At the beginning of the semester I had an idea to fill in some “extra” time between classes, I had no idea about what to expect. Initially I had approached the idea of tutoring with a small amount of trepidation. I had questions about my own qualifications as well as if I wanted to devout so much time a week to something other than my own studies. I already had fourteen units as well as a job and knew that study time was going to be at a premium. With questions still unanswered, I plunged into the abyss.

    I have always known that the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else, and tutoring is that and so much more. I had run study groups for some of my classes and they seem to have turned out well, we all got good grades, so I figured that tutoring could not be much different and in some ways, it was not. As it turned out the little things about tutoring are what has made the experience so fulfilling. It sounds somewhat hokey but I am excited about learning, and as it turns out that this is even more valuable than the answers to math problems. Many students have passed through the doors of the LAP thinking that they were at the end of their rope, discouraged and disillusioned they sit down and minutes later they are back on their feet, rejuvenated. While gathering their books and papers the students breathlessly say, “Wow, thanks a lot. When are you here again? I am coming back.” Helping a student in a small way can make a big difference and being a part of this new love for learning is a great feeling. Sending a student away with a completely new perspective, and have them come back with a thanks for a grade on a test, what a rush. I never thought at the beginning of the semester that I would get so much of a return on such a small investment of time. I have made some wonderful friends and have learned a lot in the process. However, I think the most fulfilling part about being a tutor is walking into the LAP and finding students that I had tutored helping one another, I felt a small twinge of rejection but that soon passed, replaced with overwhelming pride. I really had helped these students, and the proof was they did not need me anymore. They also believed that the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else.