ASC Full Circle: Rosie Maloney

The Academic Success Center (ASC) regularly hires tutors and academic peer mentors as well as writing consultants for its undergraduate and graduate writing centers. Both positions are on-campus, paid opportunities for students who enjoy helping their peers be academically successful.

To share a full circle scope of what it’s like to not only provide services in the ASC but experience them as well, we spoke with some current student workers who utilized our services before becoming employees. Rosie Maloney (Biological Engineering ‘24) started working as a tutor for the program during the spring of her first year. In her role as a tutor, she held 1:1 sessions with students to enhance their understanding of concepts learned in class. She currently serves as a drop-in tutor for chemistry and is a peer supervisor, where she helps other drop-in tutors by providing feedback and support.

Here is what she had to say:

How did you find out about the ASC in the first place?
I believe I found out about the ASC through my organic chemistry professor (since we had a Supplemental Instruction Leader in our class) and possibly also through various resources for freshmen, like the WISE Village, new student orientation, Wolfpack Welcome Week, email newsletters, etc.

How did you get started with tutoring? What class(es) were you seeking help with?
I was taking organic chemistry and attended SI sessions for my class. I also went to drop-in tutoring for organic chemistry or calc 3 a couple times.

How did tutoring help you as a student in your classes? What was the most beneficial thing you learned from your sessions?
I really appreciated that SI was available! I was a first-semester freshman taking CH 221 at home (because it was COVID, fall 2020), so SI was a great way to further connect with the material and with other students. SI helped me make sure I was on track with the material by providing me with extra practice and the opportunity to discuss and help explain topics with other students. It also helped me meet other students in my class (who I ran into and said hi to for the next two years, and who ended up being in some of my other classes later), which was a great way to start making connections from home. I think the most beneficial part was having a place to discuss the specific, detailed questions I had after reviewing material or working on homework. I could get clarification from my peers or SI leader in SI, or go to drop in tutoring to ask.

What made you decide to become a tutor yourself?
I decided to become a tutor because I was always helping answer questions in my class group chats. I enjoyed helping my peers by offering hints, tips and explanations, but it was sometimes hard to give good responses that helped without just giving away the answer, since I was taking time away from my own work, and because people often turn to group chats for quick, easy answers as opposed to trying to understand the concepts.

As a tutor, I have time set aside for helping my peers. Students come to tutoring willing to work to understand concepts, and tutoring even helps me review topics that I continue to use in my upper level classes!

What’s been your favorite part of working with the ASC so far?
I really enjoy the collaboration that is possible in the drop-in tutoring space. Students sit at tables by subject so they can easily discuss tough questions. If I don’t know how to help with a specific question, I can quickly flag down another tutor to see if they have any ideas, or I can ask other students at the table if they’ve done a similar question and can put us on the right track (which also helps facilitate future collaboration between students).

What advice would you give students who are unsure about whether or not tutoring is for them?
You’re welcome to come to drop-in tutoring to try it out! (or book a 30-minute, 1:1 appointment if you’re not sure about committing to an hour). I would definitely recommend drop-in, since you can decide to come or leave whenever you want and you don’t have to schedule it in advance (just double check that we’re offering your subject on the day you come! This spring, we have math Monday – Thursday; chemistry on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; and physics on Monday and Tuesday, all from 6-9 p.m. in Hill Library). You can also come to drop-in tutoring and use it as a study space, just in case you run into a question.

Even if you’re doing well in a class, you can come to ask about one specific thing that’s slightly unclear or to improve your own understanding by discussing and explaining the topic to your classmates. If you realize you’re struggling in a class at any point in the semester, we’d love to see you too and are happy to help however we can, whether working through problems to see where you get stuck, or going over topics more generally to review for a test.

Also, if you’re in a class that offers SI, why not go to a session or two to check it out? It’s created specifically to supplement your class section, and it’s great for extra practice, finding people to study with in your class, etc. even if you’re not struggling at the moment.

What advice would you give students who are considering applying to work for the ASC?
Go for it! After you’ve been at NC State for just one semester and meet the academic requirements on the website, you’re eligible to apply. It’s a great experience to put on your resume and talk about in interviews, since it demonstrates a variety of skills like communication, leadership, teamwork, mastery of academic subjects, helpfulness, independence, etc. I think it’s a really rewarding job when you’re able to help other students and you see them have ‘aha’ moments when they figure out something new.

We also could really use the help at drop-in; we couldn’t offer tutoring on Wednesdays last fall because we didn’t have enough tutors available to work! And of course, it’s conveniently located on campus in Hill Library and you get paid (at increasing rates the longer you work, if you do some quick training).

If you are a current student interested in working as a tutor, peer mentor or writing consultant within the Academic Success Center, please apply here.