Tag Archives: Tutoring

Personal Victories

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I’m finally home for Thanksgiving break, and it feels so wonderful! I missed my mom and my puppy and my siblings so much, and we were all very happy to see each other when I returned to my home away from McDaniel.

I was afraid that I wouldn’t have exciting things to share with my folks other than the normal “the semester’s going great, but I’m pretty stressed this time of year,” but in a period of less than 24 hours before heading home, I received not one but two pieces of awesome news!

The first news I received last night after my Hero’s Journey class. Last week, I gave a presentation along with a couple of other girls about elements of the hero’s journey and alchemy in Harry Potter books 5-7. Another group presented about the same things in the first four books. After this week’s class, my professor pulled me and my friend Emily, a girl from the other group, aside to ask that we give a presentation about Harry Potter and the hero’s journey at a conference full of people who use Jungian ideas (the ideas of Carl Jung) in their work.

We’ve actually had a number of interesting guest speakers in The Hero’s Journey whose work is tremendously influenced by Jung–clinical social workers, an art therapist, a woman who practices the I Ching, a shamanic drummer, and even a Vedic astrologist.

Presenting about Harry Potter to these people will be a pretty cool experience. Like any presentation given at a conference, it will also look great on my resume, but most importantly, I’ll have the chance to work closely with one of McDaniel’s many awesome professors to put together a spectacular presentation. The presentation isn’t until April, so Emily and I will have plenty of time to work on this presentation and have this unique experience.

I got more fabulous news when I checked my email after lunch this afternoon! I received an email from Josh Ambrose, the director of McDaniel’s writing center, to tell me that I have been accepted into his peer tutoring course for this spring! By taking this course, I’ll be eligible to be hired in the Writing Center next fall. (So if you come to McDaniel and visit the Writing Center, it’s possible that I’ll help you out with your paper!) I’m super proud to be enrolled in this course now, because I not only want to be a peer writing tutor at the Writing Center but also because I had to get two letters of recommendation and interview with Josh just to get a spot in the class. I was so excited that I was screaming, cheering, and running throughout my suite–much to the annoyance of some of my suite mates who were trying to squeeze in after-lunch naps, as I later found out.

So tonight, I came home very tired but quite proud of myself. I feel victorious! It’s such a great feeling to know that all of the hard work I’ve been putting in this semester is being paid off with meaningful outcomes that are happening right now. I’m hoping that when I get back to campus after break, I’ll be able to use these accomplishments to help motivate myself through the rest of the semester.

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A Busy Little Week

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Returning to campus from fall break means a return to friends and now-familiar routines. Unfortunately, it also means returning to a fresh batch of homework assignments (and ones put on hold during break). One look at my workload tonight, and you’ll be able to tell two things: that I’m an English major and that I’m a little overwhelmed at the moment. Tomorrow I have my first test of the semester for my grammar class, and I have a paper due in my rhetoric class. (Fortunately, the paper deadline got pushed back by a day, giving me more time to work on it. Unfortunately, that means I’m still working on it.)

Of course, I haven’t let the homework bog me down completely, as I kept busy with plenty of non-homework things yesterday too. After class, I went to West Middle School, a local middle school within walking distance from campus, where I volunteer once a week as an after-school tutor for kids who want or need extra help with their homework. I’ve been involved in this since last fall, and I have not only enjoyed it but I have also learned a lot about myself and working with people who are younger than me.

Later in the evening, I went to Honors Around the World, an event sponsored by the Honors Club at which students of the Honors Program talked about their experiences studying abroad. It was great to hear about some of my friends’ and peers’ travels to Costa Rica, Budapest, Spain, Ghana, and other places. I was especially glad to hear Mara talk about her experience in Glasgow, Scotland, since I would like to study abroad there in 2014. McDaniel’s Honors Program is part of a special partnership with the University of Glasgow that lets honors students from select U.S. institutions study at Glasgow. I think it’s a pretty awesome opportunity, and I can’t wait to experience it myself next spring!

And before I hit the books last night, I helped the Free Press, our student newspaper, distribute copies of our latest print issue in my residence hall. Our print issues have been looking fantastic this year, and I highly recommend that you track a copy down if you visit campus. Whether you’re interested in journalism or not, looking at colleges’ student newspapers is a great way to learn more about the campus and find out what students care about.

The October issue of the McDaniel Free Press, featuring McDaniel ROTC cadets

Despite being only three days long, this week has been one of my busiest little weeks in recent memory. (The fact that we don’t get a lot of short weeks on campus can also account for that.) I’m definitely looking forward to this week coming to a close! After my grammar test, I’m heading home again to take care of things I didn’t get to over fall break and to spend more time with my family. (Fall break will never be long enough for me!)

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