Hello! I’m Kelly, the Learning Center Intern this Fall semester. I’m a senior and I major in English Language Arts. My goal is to become an English Teacher. This is my first semester tutoring as well as my internship and I can easily say that I have learned a lot so far. We are currently about six weeks into the semester and things are really picking up tutoring wise. I find myself booked almost every session I offer these days, which is so awesome! I’m really happy that so many people are using the services. I tend to be a more introverted person. I have an easier time talking to people older or younger than me rather than people my age, so I was worried that I would be awkward or shy during appointments. I found that I was a little more worried than I needed to be.

While I was nervous for my first ever appointment, it went very well, and I have to remind myself that some tutees are just as nervous as I am. As the weeks have gone on, I have learned how to interact with my tutees to make them and myself comfortable. I love starting off appointments with things not related to the subject at hand, like asking them how they are and what year they’re in, what their major is. I find it helps to relax them a bit as well as myself because it creates a sense of comfort since I suddenly know them a little bit better. I’ve learned that each student needs a different approach. Some know exactly what they want to work on and tell me where they want to focus, and others I take more control when they are uncertain of where to start by taking it one section of the paper at a time.

So far I have learned a lot about how to help students with different personalities. Patience is definitely a huge element. Every student learns at their own paces and I need to learn what approach works best for them in return. With midterms coming up soon, I hope that I can help all the students that will have sessions with me. It makes me really happy that I can help others.