Peer Tutor & Supplemental Instructor
I graduated from a French institution (Le Lycee Albert Camus) in June 2014. I found myself seeking and wanting more. I wanted to do my college studies in an English institution despite having no prior experience in the matter. However, I was willing to accept that challenge. I wanted to prove to others, but mainly myself that anything is possible if you work hard. Case and point, only a month after starting to learn math in English, I felt confident enough to teach others. Although I still had to learn several mathematical terms and expressions in English to be efficient in my explanation (such as Square root, pie, etc.), I was still able to effectively tutor other students and get them to succeed. This was definitely out my comfort zone.
Despite the various challenges I had to face during this experience, I was still able to learn and understand the importance of the role I was playing in other students' lives. I realized how valuable getting to interact with other students and other people was. It really allowed me to learn more about them, their culture, their story but more importantly it taught me how to be patient with people. I learn that to be effective at working with or teaching others, one must learn patience, the importance listening to other people and truly caring about what they have to say, and understand that everyone learns at a different pace. That is a lesson that will carry me through life.
Honestly, I wish I would have capitalized more on a few things during this time, such as the social interaction I was having with the students and teachers alike. I could have used their experiences to improve and enrich mine, especially since I was not only new to the university, the campus, the country but also the educational system. But, in a nutshell, my experience as a peer tutor and supplemental instructor at UC Clermont has allowed me to learn the importance of interacting with other people. And, if I could leave you with anything to remember, it would have to be one of my favorite quote by David Corbett that perfectly sums up the experience I had:
"Character is not created in Isolation or Repose;
It is forged through interactions with others and the world."
