As previous stated, Fall 2013 was the pilot semester for the Connect2Complete program at Miami Hamilton. It was a semester of trial and error but with many successful outcomes!
This semester I am continuously utilizing my most valuable assets to improve the program and its impact. These assets would be the first group of C2C Peer Advocates that did such a wonderful job pioneering the program last semester.
I interviewed the returning Advocates about their experiences, how we could improve upon it and what advice they would give to incoming Advocates. I even had them share this with the 3 new Advocates during Orientation.
I asked one of our PA's from last semester to write about her experiences last semester. Even though the PA, Reb Vachon, is traveling aboard this semester I still wanted to share her experience.
I hope you enjoy it!
I had been through two days of training, sat through multiple presentations on the services offered at Miami Hamilton, memorized as much as I could about the job I was about to perform and even met with the instructor I was partnered with before classes started, but I still felt extremely nervous as I walked into Mosler 300 to meet the students I would be working with as a Connect2Complete peer advocate. I arrived a half an hour early and immediately ran into a small problem deciding where to sit. I wasn’t sure if I should sit in the front of the class where the professor sits, or if the back of the classroom would offer a better position. Eventually, I settled on sitting in the front of the class, but still off to the side, and I began the wait for the professor and students to arrive. Once all the students settled into a seat, the professor began reviewing the syllabus and classroom expectations and I felt the butterflies inside my stomach begin their excited dance again which became even worse as the professor called on me to explain who I was and why I was there.
The next week the butterflies were gone as I settled into a routine in the classroom. My role in the classroom bounced between instructor and student as I sometimes answered questions and provided feedback like an instructor, and other times was called upon and participated in class discussions like a student. During a typical class period, I would start the class by informing the students of events occurring on campus that week, remind them that I was available out of class and then I would assist the professor in any way possible. Sometimes that was through discussions on grammar and style, adding my opinions on the students’ progress and offering a prospective of a student with a larger amount of academic writing experience.
Outside of the classroom, I would try to connect with the students through my weekly office hours, seeing the students around campus and through email. I often reminded students of activities occurring on campus, assignments and expectations for the next week and helped students one-on-one with their writing drafts. However, the most challenging aspect of being an advocate was trying to connect with the students. With this semester being the first semester of the Connect2Complete program at Miami Hamilton, I had no advice or examples of previous advocates to guide me though my position as an advocate. If I could go back and redo the semester with my current knowledge I would emphasize my office hours and also my availability outside of those hours to meet with students individually. Additionally, I would attempt to further explain my role as an advocate to the students as well as the services I can connect them to as I now feel that many of my students did not fully understand that.
While I will not be able to continue to serve as an advocate next semester as I am spending the semester abroad, I would encourage all interested students to explore the possibility of being a C2C advocate. I found the position extremely rewarding as I had the chance to watch the students I was helping develop into more skilled writers and I knew that I had played a part in helping them not only in the class I was assigned to, but I also helped them acquire the skills to make them successful in all subsequent classes. I would urge new advocates to put themselves out there as soon as possible and make connections with the students right away. The personal connection between student and advocate is what enables the program to be successful.
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