Cailla Prisco
Student Life Editor
College can be hard, and the classes can be even harder. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were programs on campus for students to receive one-on-one tutoring, group study sessions, and organizational help?
The Aspire program in the Trio Center offers all of these services, one hundred percent funded by Keene State.
The Aspire program involves student tutors who are matched with students that request help in a specific class or major. Students can stay with their assigned tutor for the whole semester, and even continue using Aspire for their entire four years at Keene State College.
Katie Robinson, an Educational Program Coordinator at KSC who is also a TRIO staff member said that students should be taking advantage of these options.
“We are fortunate to have a lot of science and math based programs that can be hard for some students, the math and writing center are working together to assist students as well as with the tutoring center” Robinson said.
The tutoring program is well known to campus, but what some students may not know is that there are programs in Aspire that help with organizational skills, understanding textbooks and time management.
Robinson said that tutoring is in high demand in the math, anatomy and physiology departments, “Psychology is also a big one and we’ve been getting a lot of requests for management and safety, we really see it from all majors and all different levels of classes. We are always looking for more tutors!”
The Aspire program changes every year, in most cases first year students will come to the office located on the first floor of the Elliot Center, and will stay with the Aspire program until they graduate senior year.
According to the Keene State website, the program also hosts a study night in the Mason Library every week alternating between Monday and Tuesday where students can come in and work with educational counselors.
Robinson said, “We have counselors here that will work with students with anything from time management, how to understand class lecture and how to read their college textbooks. Even that transition from high school to college and finding their own while their here so they can find their success.”
KSC junior and mathematics major Gabby Daniels is a tutor at the Aspire program, she said that tutoring can be really frustrating for both the tutor and the student but in the end, it is so rewarding.
“It gave me the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and take a leadership role. There are times when it’s extremely challenging because your tutor just isn’t comprehending the material. When they finally understand it, a huge feeling of relief comes over you and you think to yourself finally, we’re making progress,” she said.
Daniels continued to say that she would always suggest people to tutor if they know their class material, and if they don’t, she recommends that they go get a tutor.
“I think it’s very beneficial for students to work with others when they’re struggling in courses or after passing a course and wanting to share helpful tips about their experience in the course/how they got through it,” she said.
Cailla Prisco can be contacted at
cprisco@kscequinox.com
