Sophomores Emilia Cayelli, Libby Heald, and Marissa Hurle may have not become so close had it not been for their choice of seats in calculus last year.
But as they struggled to understand the concepts, the girls cemented their bond during late night study sessions with their instructor, Joy Beverly, a senior lecturer in math.
The trio met up again Tuesday evening to attend Finish Strong, a massive, multi-subject review session held at Lakeside Village. It was their fourth time.
“It’s a good last bit of studying to help you tie up the loose ends before an exam,” Cayelli said.
They were not the only repeat visitors.
Open to all University of Miami students, the study sessions drew more than 1,100 students during reading day this week and included nearly 25 faculty members, who volunteer their time to help students brush up on challenging topics before finals. Finish Strong expanded dramatically since it started about 10 years ago, said Beverly, who is also chair of the Residential Faculty. Her team helps organize the academic components of Finish Strong, with the guidance and help of the University’s Housing and Residential Life staff.
“This was something that was built organically between the residential faculty and our connections with the rest of the faculty,” said Leslie Knecht, a senior lecturer in chemistry, and residential faculty member who was tutoring on Tuesday night. “The faculty that are coming into this space really care about student success.”
It began with one classroom study session in the Mahoney and Pearson residential colleges 10 years ago. But with more faculty members willing to participate, and the support of Housing and Residential Life, Beverly said Finish Strong has become a two-day event that includes more than 17 review sessions in chemistry, biology, calculus, writing, business, and languages, and took over most of the conference spaces of Lakeside Village Tuesday. Finish Strong will continue this weekend, with a final study table session at the Lakeside Expo Center focused on chemistry this Sunday night from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
“As a residential faculty, I noticed that students are studying late at night, so I asked faculty if they would be willing to come in, and we saw that student anxiety levels went down and they felt better prepared for exams,” Beverly said. “Then we quickly outgrew the rooms we were using.”
Matt McCabe, assistant director of residential education, said there are two main goals to Finish Strong—to help students feel more prepared for final exams and to alleviate finals stress. And from survey data taken in the past, students who attend report that they feel more prepared for exams. In the case of chemistry, attendees from the fall semester Finish Strong scored a whole letter grade better on the final exam when compared to their peers who didn’t attend Finish Strong, he added. In February the team even received an award from the Southeastern Association of Housing Officers for putting on the event.
“Finals is a very stressful time, so we really hope to put students at ease,” said McCabe. “At this event we are also trying to develop an academic community, so that students in similar disciplines can meet others to study with.”
First-year student Allison Melvin was grateful to attend the packed review session led by Katlyn Meier, assistant professor of chemistry. Melvin is taking Meier’s Principles of Chemistry class this spring, but also attended in the fall, and spent time with Monique Rosenberg, a math lecturer.
“It’s very helpful when the actual professors whose classes you are taking offer study sessions because they will often go over questions that they know may be similar to the test,” said Melvin, a civil engineering major.
Zita Cortes, a first-year student majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology, said attending the review sessions helps her isolate what concepts to study, so it’s less overwhelming. Catherine Bizet, a first-year health science major, agreed.
“It’s nice for professors to give us extra time to go over these questions outside of class, so they can help with what we are struggling with the most,” Bizet said.
Sophomore Hansini Koppolu was waiting in line for a student tutor to help her tackle a calculus question on a whiteboard Tuesday night. She said not only is the individual help useful for her, but it’s also nice to work with students studying for the same exams. She would recommend other students take advantage of Finish Strong.
“It definitely helped to see people in the same boat as me, studying for the same exams,” she said. “It’s also nice to get my questions answered individually, and not in front of a bunch of people in class.”
Meanwhile, Ayomide Akinrimisi, a sophomore studying computer science and finance, was extremely glad that Sergio Hernandez, a math lecturer, could help him prepare for his precalculus exam.
“At these sessions, you have people who are writing the tests in the building, so it is a tremendous benefit to have faculty here,” he said. “Without this, studying would be much more difficult.”
