The Camner Center for Academic Resources offers students a range of academic support services with a simple goal in mind: to help students succeed in their courses and set them up for long-term success. Its most popular service, especially as students prepare for the second half of the semester, is its peer-based one-on-one and group tutoring, which is offered at no additional cost to enrolled students.
“When I took chemistry for the first time, I struggled. I remember signing up for tutoring and my mentor was phenomenal,” Aloki Patel, a tutor at the Camner Center and senior majoring in biology and criminology said. “I realized then that having a tutor who is helpful and resourceful is important for a student to fall in love with the course”
Like many of her fellow tutors, Patel takes pride in her work as a mentor, adding that the role fulfills her self-motivation to contribute to the ’Canes community. “Having a tutor was so impactful for me, so I wanted to do the same for incoming students.”
Students can schedule tutoring appointments via the Camner Center’s website based on their classes. With over 40 tutors available, students have access to guidance for a variety of subjects and courses.
While tutoring is only offered through virtual appointments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tutors explained that this shift has allowed virtual classmates to build community through group tutoring sessions. Students who feel they need extra support and guidance with their studies have turned to weekly Zoom review sessions to stay on track.
Tiger Ma, a graduate student studying biomedical engineering, noted that a significant advantage to the Camner Center’s tutoring program is the level of understanding the tutors provide.
“I think what’s great about the peer-to-peer component is that we’ve all be through it. As students ourselves, we’ve all taken these courses and, to an extent, understand what another student might need more help or focus in with particular classes or professor teaching styles,” Ma said.
Being a tutor proves to be mutually beneficial for the student and the tutor. Not only are the tutors dedicated to helping their community, but each other.
“Through our network of tutors, we have all found friendships that we wouldn’t have found otherwise through the shared interest of tutoring and of bringing people together,” Patel said. “It provides a sense of family and belonging just within our own community of tutors.”
These students’ dedication to their peers’ success reminds the community that ’Canes Care for ’Canes, sharing that building connections with tutees proves time and time again to be the most worthwhile part of their role.
“To be able to see students throughout multiple subjects because they keep coming back has been so fulfilling,” said Caroline Case, a senior tutor majoring in biology. “I had one student that I saw for two years that kept coming back, learning and doing better as each subject progressed,” she added. “That’s what makes our job as tutors so cool, to see our own classmates grow.”
For more information on how to book an individual or group session or to apply to be a tutor, visit camnercenter.miami.edu/tutoring-services. Students can like the Camner Center on Facebook to stay updated on the latest services and announcements.
Once in-person services resume, the Camner Center will be located on the second floor of the recently opened Student Services Building.
