Life of a Campus Tutor

The responsibility of a college student-tutor is not always for everyone that is wanting to take up an active role on campus that keeps students engaged with one another. For most students here on campus, dealing with the pressure of prioritizing their craft, whatever it may be, is a given for everyone. However, it is quite an advantage for those whose studies come naturally. For others, their studies come easily and may not take long for them to excel in their craft, and that’s why the recommendations from professors are a crucial component to becoming a tutor. There have been plenty of students on campus who have sought out tutoring at some point, who may have experienced a challenge getting in contact with one due to certain departments not promoting them. 

Sophomore engineering major, Grace Pelz, shares that prioritizing organizational skills is one of the main challenges you face as a first-time tutor here on campus:

“If you’re not prioritizing any sort of time management skills that may or may not be strong once you are  [a tutor], school-life could get rough real quick,” Pelz says. “You really just have to commit and put in the work.” 

Tutors like Pelz have shared how often students that want to take up an on-campus job may not want to rush into the role of becoming a tutor due to the time commitment that goes into helping students catch up and gain understanding on their assignments. As soon as they become a part of the school, students who live on campus undergo the process of trying to figure out how to quickly find a job for the semester that works well with their schedule. Most are able to acquire some sort of job fairly quickly but the needs met are not always aimed the same when helping students with assignments. Much like establishing a conversation with any sort of pier rfor the first time, one of the major aspects of being an effective tutor comes with developing a personable behavior that creates the space for students who need assistance. 

Writing-center student-worker, Anna Quick shares her point concerning the matter.

“I would say, a big thing you don’t think about when tutoring, or at least if you’re wanting to, is factoring in your personality—like how good your customer service skills are.” 

First-year students can tend to feel intimidated around their peers when in the classroom let alone outside of it. Having the ability to naturally offer a sense of invitation towards peers allows them to gain a better understanding of a person’s character and even attitude under stress. More often are tutors able to become more close to other students when they are able to see who they are outside of the classroom. A majority of the tutors on campus are not taking up the job full-time amidst their school schedule. Just like many students, they have extracurricular responsibilities outside of their class that occupy their week. One of the key components of staying effective in and void of added stress is to keep an organized schedule throughout the term. 

“I’m on the soccer team here and I’d say it’s helped a lot so far with getting my friends informed.” Pelz says. “I’ve realized that in order to help other students I need to make sure I’m putting in the work myself so I can be at my best for them.” 

Whether on the field or in the library, Grace Pelz represents how the life of a tutor, though it may be a campus-job, requires a certain level of personal commitment in others and in oneself to effectively help others in the assignments. 

It may be enough that a student themselves can recognize that they can have the potential qualifications to become a tutor, but since it is a paid job, professors need to also recognize the qualities in the student as well to move forward in chances of tutoring. 

Junior vocal-music education major, Diego Rivera, notes this experience. 

“Once the professor notices that you’re maintaining a good grade in the class is when you start getting their suggestions of tutoring for those who are falling behind in the class, he says.” Rivera has been able to witness his responsibility become all the more essential since the start of this semester due to the rapid increase of first-year students here at the school. The need for tutors in multiple departments, rather than just music, is what Rivera touches on due to the stress of needing and promoting tutors has become greater as the semester progresses: 

“With Millikin’s rapid increase of new students it’s definitely upped the needs of helping those students who are struggling,” he says. “It’s gotten, for sure, stressful at times because more students are not too experienced with reading music any more.”

So much of the hustle of tutoring comes from how students are getting informed of the names and faces to look for within their department or anywhere on campus for tutors. Whether the arsenal of tutors are few in a department or great, the means of communication of how to connect and refer students to tutors within the department by ear has become unclear to many. 

“I mean, yeah, for those taking gen-ed classes here don’t always know how to get in contact with us.” River says. 

There has been a limited amount of communication for not only new students here on campus but also there has been a disheartening absence of recognition for these students that are able to put in the extra time and effort into giving others students the one-on-one assistance that they need in order to excel or gain clearer understanding of their assignment here at the school. 

“Students are able to ask teachers if they can get extra help on most of their assignments or projects but it’s often they don’t feel comfortable to reach out,” Pelz says.” 

Shebrings up an example of the certain dynamic teachers and students have towards one another are not always going to be as comforting compared to the dynamic between student to student interaction. 

Anna Quick shares how once students are able to get in contact with a tutor the weight of their problems change drastically.  

“The moment that students come up to me with their issues in their homeworks, no matter the age they are,  they know they can feel comfortable around me to help them is—there’s nothing like it, it’s the best,” she says.

Students have often felt that any sort of interactions with their peers regarding assignments, whether they are tutors or not, have led them to feel a sense of belonging at the school since working with a tutor might be one of the main avenues in getting better insight on life on campus. 

This typically speaks to how students are directed to seek the assistance and guidance they need for situations going on in their life whether it be a personal matter or an academic one. Tutors' personable attitudes have enabled students to equip themselves with the social skills to allow them to have a voice on campus and in their field of study. River understands that being personable is extremely important. “I mean if I had to sit in a room with someone who I was not vibing with and it felt like I was wasting their time, it would definitely be like pulling teeth for an hour and a half trying to figure out my homework,” he says.

Students all over campus have found the influence of tutors for their navigation through understanding and strengthening of their coursework to be more than utility. Tutors’ role on campus has been able to have a lot more critical impact on campus than Millikin may recognize. Often, they’re hidden amidst the students in between classes, or out on the field, or in the choir ensembles. Any sort of recognition that these students can receive from their fellow classmates and school does not have to be anything grand or dramatic but these students require the attention necessary for more students to be informed about the matter involving the awareness of their role on campus.