Although I have always enjoyed reading and writing, and have always found English to be beautiful, powerful, and breathtaking, I was never confident in my knowledge and ability to write, let alone tutor others. Being an immigrant and having to experience the process of learning English does that to a person. Throughout my schooling journey, I have found myself drawn to pursuing a career in education to do just that, teach and become an ESL teacher. Over the summer, I was approached by Emily with the opportunity to work at the Writing Centre. Although I was very excited and grateful for this opportunity, helping and guiding students at a university level intimidated me greatly. However, how boring would life be if things do not alarm or intimidate me a little now and then. Having finished my first semester of working at the Writing Centre, I am happy to say that although it has not been easy, it sure has been filled with growth, connections, and maturity.  

Being an embedded tutor, I had the wonderful opportunity to walk alongside WRTG 101 D in their writing processes. I got to know eight wonderful students and guided them in this challenging semester of online learning. Through weekly meetings, I watched them improve their writing and advance in their ability to connect and interact with the knowledge taught. It was so gratifying for me to see their improvements, but through it all, I have learned a lot too. I was reminded of the importance of one’s thesis statement as it sets the paper’s tone. Not only that, I witnessed the importance and usefulness of writing an outline for one’s paper. I also saw how necessary affirmation, encouragement, and support are in this very digital world and semester. Although meeting me might have been the last thing they wanted to do during their busy week, after the meetings, I could see clear improvements in their mood and understanding of the requirements laid out before them by Prof. Dewsbury.  

During my ten weekly hours at the Writing Centre, I also got to work with other students from different years and courses. Through guiding the students in understanding their writing prompts, generating ideas, and develop thesis sentences, not only did they receive support, I was continuously practicing and improving my writing abilities. Additionally, by helping the students make sure their sentences and paragraphs are coherent and clear, I am always brushing up on my knowledge of how to best support and guide students in their learning and understanding.  

Other than tutoring, Emily has been very supportive and encouraging throughout this past semester. Through holding weekly meetings that taught me different skills and knowledge, I was constantly improving in my ability to support and help students. This past semester was filled with new experiences and challenges; I am grateful for this experience and thankful for all the knowledge learned and absorbed.