John Kirts ’20 WLAIP Mentor – This summer I was selected to work for the Wabash Liberal Arts Immersion Program during the its third summer institute. I am very grateful that I was able to work in this program, as I felt that I did meaningful and enjoyable work.
My position as a mentor and writing tutor, with additional roles as parent liaison and blogger, provided me with a broad spectrum of responsibility and experience. Most impactful to my time working this summer was the change and development I witnessed in the 30 students with whom we writing tutors worked closely on English 101 papers and assignments. The challenge presented to the students to complete college-level work after variable levels of preparation from high school pushed them to grow. To watch and engaged with the incoming freshmen who at the start of July were reluctant to ask for help and who did not ever practice drafting papers before, and to see them at the end of the month eager to have another set of eyes on their work so they could change anything necessary, was not only satisfying for my role, but further important for their college readiness. My job as a writing tutor also gave me invaluable experience working with the professors for the program and the students to both teach and catch the students up on subtle, good student behaviors, and to assist in every part of the writing process from a semi-authoritative voice; I acted as eyes and ears for the professors, but in a less intimidating manner gave instruction. My role as a parent liaison and blogger enabled me to gain other memorable and valuable experiences.
In order to acquire accurate and clear information on the students’ happiness and work in the program, I needed to engage with the students and go to the same events and activities so I could answer any parent’s questions, and write frequent blogs. This aspect of my job for the WLAIP was enjoyable as I became friends with the future Wabash men, and educational for me due to the empathy necessary for understanding and remembering the transition to college-level work and general student life.
Overall, the program and my roles in it gave me professional experience working with students in academic and social settings, as well as practice being in dialogue with the parents of the students during the summer institute. I am exceedingly grateful to the Mellon Grant for making my experiences possible and purveying my stipend for the month of work.
