Meet Phil Zona, English major and Penn State Learning writing tutor from Spring 2012 - Spring 2013. Phil writes below about life after graduation, the importance of human connection, and how tutoring relates to insurance adjustments, software instructions, and marketing. After I graduated I moved to New Jersey to work as an insurance adjuster. I did that for almost three years and left to write documentation and instructions for a tech company that offers web hosting and private servers. Most recently, I've started a marketing company with a partner so we're spending a lot of time trying to get that off the ground. I've also done some freelance work here and there, which has been pretty cool because it lets me work on a huge variety of different projects. Tutoring has been a huge influence for everything I've done. I majored in English at Penn State, so people are sometimes surprised to hear I'm not in publishing or teaching. Working at the writing center taught me more than just where to put commas and how to rephrase a subordinate clause--it taught me how to figure out how to solve problems and help people, which are skills I've used far more than the purely grammatical and literary materials I learned in my classes. When a student comes into the writing center, they might have anything from a 500-word business essay to a graduate-level physics report, so you have to be versatile. For me, it was all about figuring out how to help them in a way they found valuable, even if I wasn't an expert in the subject matter they were writing on. Whether it's investigating car accidents or writing up instructions for installing software, there's always a human element to it. You never want someone to leave feeling like they don't understand what to do next, or like they didn't get some value from an interaction, and that can be tough because the people you deal with (in both business and tutoring) have such a diversity of needs, wants, backgrounds, and goals. But it's all about figuring out who that person is and making sure your message is on point so that it connects with them. That's been the biggest lesson I learned as a tutor, and I've applied it in everything I've done since graduation. If I were giving tutors one piece of advice, it would be to hang out with as wide a variety of people as possible. It gives you a more solid foundation as a tutor because almost every single person who comes looking for help has a different idea of what it means to receive help. When you know a variety of people, you get a sense for how to give advice to those with different personalities, and it makes things easier for you and them both. Tutoring and just life in general are both about human connections. Anyone can learn the technical skills for almost any given subject, but if you can't connect with people, I don't think it's possible to get to the point of exchanging knowledge in a meaningful way.
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Abdulaziz Dahlawi, or “Aziz” for short, graduated in Spring 2016 as one of Penn State Learning’s most recent alumni. Though a Saudi Arabian native, he was no stranger to Happy Valley on his first day of freshman year--visits to his cousins at Penn State familiarized him with the area in the years prior (“I’m basically a townie,” he jokes). While completing his undergrad in Economics and Spanish, his love for his third language led him to become a tutor at the Learning Center during his senior year. Where is he now, you ask? Read on and find out. What was your role during your time at Penn State Learning? During my senior year from Fall 2015-Spring 2016, I was a Spanish tutor in Sparks. In addition to the drop-in side of it, we also hosted exam reviews for the first through third levels of the language. What direction did you go after Penn State? All throughout my senior year, I had thought that I wanted to work after I graduated. Had I gone back home, the jobs available would have primarily been in the banking fields--it wasn’t something that I was particularly interested in. During spring semester, I started looking more seriously into the possibility of grad school. Penn State had a two year program that would allow me to combine my global knowledge with my language knowledge and put things into an international perspective. Right now, I’m mostly focusing on development policy. Ideally, I’d like to work on policies for sustainable growth in developing countries. Though it might be a little bit of a reach, someday I want to work for the UN or World Bank--or maybe an organization that works with them. I’m not particularly picky. I am, however, looking forward to going somewhere new after I graduate from this program. Penn State is great, but I’ve got more places I’d like to see too. How would you compare grad vs. undergrad? The law building is separated from the rest of campus, so I don’t see much else anymore. People on this end of the spectrum are more career-oriented and are thinking more immediately about their futures than others. I’m in the same place geographically, but surrounded by a more professionally-minded crowd. I hadn’t started thinking about the future from the beginning of undergrad, but I have started from that point here. I’m still thinking about my options for internships and other upcoming opportunities during the semester. Classes here expect you to think more critically, and there are fewer exams. It’s all about handling real-life situations instead of hypothetical regurgitation. Has your experience tutoring at PSL impacted your life or career? If so, how? Yes. Learning how to communicate the knowledge of a language helped me to develop my own language skills. Teaching someone else really helps to put things into perspective--it not only solidifies what you know, but it serves as a great refresher for things you haven’t seen since you learned them. From a career standpoint, it’s very important in my field because I’ll be working with different communities and it’ll be helpful to have a wider reach. PSL offers Arabic as a language for tutoring. As a native speaker, had you ever considered doing both? I grew up with Arabic and knew it from the start, so I didn’t learn it like I learned my second and third languages. I think it would be hard to teach because it’s so inherent. Tutoring Spanish was exponentially easier than ever trying to explain Arabic--I remembered the class settings, so the concepts and structures were simpler to replicate. I was able to share what I did in my classes that helped me versus what I could have done better. Do you have any words of advice for current tutors and recent graduates entering into the professional world? For the current tutors--be patient; make students feel comfortable. Some people come in hesitant and intimidated, but make them remember that they’re your peers. Language can be tough but encourage them to keep coming regularly and not just during crunch time. The students who kept coming on a weekly basis did better than those who came only during exam time. For alumni--the communication and instructional skills that you develop while working at Penn State Learning will benefit you for the rest of your life and are valuable to learn. Always keep in mind the value of communication. ~This interview was compiled by Danielle Metzger, Spanish tutor, class of 2018. Paige, a former writing tutor who graduated in 2013, kindly offered her responses to our interview questions. The photo is from her trip to Chicago in January to cover Creating Change, an LGBT conference, for Philadelphia Gay News. Keep reading to find out more about Paige's past and present, her advice to tutors, and what 'lede' means. What was your role during your time at Penn State Learning? I worked as a writing tutor from spring 2011 to spring 2012. After I graduated, I also spent the first summer session working with students who wanted help writing and editing cover letters. What direction did you go after Penn State? Six weeks after graduation, I moved to upstate New York to start a master’s program in arts journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. It was a whirlwind 13-month program that included reviewing movies at the Toronto International Film Festival, interning at Vanity Fair and covering Spoleto Festival USA for The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina. I’ve worked as a reporter since earning my degree in 2013. Right now, I cover the LGBT community for Philadelphia Gay News. Before that, I wrote for the Reading Eagle and Business Insider. Has your experience tutoring at PSL impacted your life or career? If so, how? As a writing tutor, I picked up the habit of reading my work aloud to make sure it flows how I want it. People often catch me at my desk muttering a report to myself before I file the story. Penn State Learning also instilled the value of maintaining a community of peers. Over my career, I’ve developed mentors who I can turn to whenever I have a question as small as wording a lede* or as big as tracking down a difficult source. It helps to talk with people both inside and outside my current news organization. Do you have any words of advice for current tutors and recent graduates entering into the professional world? Try to meet the tutors in subjects outside your own. It’s great to hear how people become experts in their various fields. You might find techniques that you can apply to your work. [*Lede: the introductory section of a news story that is intended to entice the reader to read the full story. We attempted to make the lede for Paige's interview enticing. Did it work?] Join us in welcoming our first guest blogger, PSL writing tutor alumna Nicole Gravlin! Nicole graduated in May 2011 and majored in English, with a minor in nutritional sciences. She answers our questions below about her work for PSL, life after graduation, and how being a tutor still impacts her current role as a yearbook sales representative. What was your role during your time at Penn State Learning? I joined the PSL family when I became a Writing Center tutor during my junior year. I had a late start because I switched my major from nutrition to English during my second semester sophomore year. I wish I had more time! What direction did you go after Penn State? After I graduated, I attended Rosemont College and earned a master’s degree in publishing. Initially, I wanted to have a concentration in editing (inspired in part by my time as a writing tutor!) and eventually become a magazine editor. However, I realized I wanted to be able to continue learning and evolving beyond grammar and spelling skills, so I switched to the design concentration in publishing, turning to magazine design and working with Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. I still wanted to be able to interact with other people and help them improve whatever skill they're working on, so my role as a yearbook sales rep is perfect for me. Has your experience tutoring at PSL impacted your life or career? If so, how? Yes, 100%! I often find myself telling students and advisers about my time tutoring at Penn State and how they can use those skills in interviewing and writing for yearbook stories. The most impactful part of tutoring for me was seeing the confidence build in tutees when they found their voice in their writing without me making a single pen mark on their papers. Learning and practicing working with students from all backgrounds by asking questions about what they'd like to say with their papers has helped me understand what other people want and need in my profession and in my personal relationships. I work with students daily as a mentor and teacher, with the most common request of "help me make my writing/design stronger" for their yearbook. You know how no one reads the copy in yearbooks? I want to help change that and give students the confidence to write to the best of their abilities and showcase that to their school body with their stories and graphic design. The happiness and pride I'd see on students' faces at Penn State still shows when helping a 9th grader write about the spring play for a yearbook spread or walking into a classroom and that shy student excitedly shows me how I inspired her for a new spread design. Although helping students may be the fun part of this job, the best part of my job is winning a sale, of course. I believe I would not be such a strong salesperson if I hadn't been involved with PSL. I learned how to ask questions and understand others' needs through tutoring, which gives me an advantage over a typical salesperson. We never jump to conclusions as a tutor or assume what the student should say, so you're already a step ahead in communication skills in the professional world. Do you have any words of advice for current tutors and recent graduates entering into the professional world? The most important lesson I learned is to not start your job hunt by searching for a particular job title. I never believed I would go into sales and never wanted to, but I've now found that I'll never leave sales and it's where I was meant to be. My advice to everyone entering the professional world is to find your "non-negotiables" for your life and then you will be able to find the profession that will match. I knew I wanted a job that allowed me to be creative, help/teach others new skills, have a changing schedule, and do all of those things without being chained to a desk behind a computer screen. Soon after I graduated from grad school, I thought I would go into magazine design or editing, but none of my needs would have been met. I discovered this role after looking through my old yearbooks and deciding, "yeah, I can do that job!" and haven't looked back. Make sure your lifestyle needs aren't compromised for a job title and you'll find yourself much happier than if you had pigeonholed yourself into a particular role. |
AuthorsThis blog is a collaborative effort between current and former PSL employees. Authors include tutors, receptionists, PSL staff, and, of course, alumni. Archives
November 2016
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