A lot of buildings at Lawrence are built into the bank of the river that runs past campus, which means that sometimes you have to enter on the 4th floor, and sometimes the 1st floor is partially underground. For this reason, some students aren’t quite sure where the CAS—the Center for Academic Success—is located. Consider this a leg up: it’s on the 1st floor of Briggs.
As a student tutor, I spend a lot of time there, working coverage shifts and meeting with students who want a quiet place for a tutoring session. And there are a lot of students to meet with—most freshmen meet with a writing tutor at least once, and it’s a trend that tends to continue through all four years at Lawrence. As there are over 200 tutors, it’s clearly a popular resource.
I am a writing tutor, meaning that I give feedback on written works. This isn’t just essays for classes, but also cover letters and personal statements for all kinds of applications. I’m also a German tutor, so some of my sessions are on a weekly basis, helping students understand the finer points of grammar and giving them a chance to practice speaking in a more casual atmosphere. Lawrence is great with foreign language tutors—since we have so many international students, tutees often are able to work with native speakers of the language they’re learning. And, finally, I’m a linguistics tutor. This isn’t unusual: a lot of students are tutors in the areas of their majors and/or minors.
But the CAS has resources beyond just tutoring. As previously mentioned, many people appreciate the calm, quiet environment. But there are also some wonderful specialists who help students get accessibility services so that they have the best possible opportunities to succeed in class. There are also experts in ESL who work with students—who are often from other countries, but not exclusively. Then there are the academic counselors. If you find yourself unmotivated, or constantly stressed, or if you’re not sure about the path you’re on regarding your chosen major (or even just your current class schedule), these counselors are an excellent team to get to the bottom of the situation. Academic advisors also help with this, of course, but the sessions in the CAS have an emphasis on psychology, and a lot of students find it helpful to speak with someone who doesn’t necessarily have a connection to their field of study (most students have advisors in their major).
Somehow I managed to get through almost my whole freshman year without going to see a tutor, but this year I’ve made use of the academic counseling services and received feedback on papers, as well as made some great friends by talking to other people in the CAS. Because the tutors are all students, a lot of the pressure is gone, and you know that the person helping you struggles with the same things you do. Being a tutor is a very rewarding job, and the CAS is without a doubt one of the best resources that Lawrence has to offer its students.
It’s also worth mentioning that on most Fridays, you can pet Ruby, the wonderful dog belonging to one of the CAS staff members 🙂