School is tough, success seminars can help

Some may not like to admit it, but school’s tough – especially when you don’t understand the curriculum. When you enter a classroom, you’re expected to learn about what the teacher presents that day. At times, a student won’t understand what is to be expected and that’s okay – that’s what resources are for.

At Mt. Hood, the resources available to students include a wide range of tutors, student success seminars, teachers, the availability of electronics and books.

Lawrence Gilius, MHCC Learning Services Coordinator, spoke about the Success Series – mini-seminars hosted upstairs in the Library – and how they help students focus on their studies.

“Use these resources to make your life easier,” Gilius said.

The Success Series is “a free presentation on a skill related to your success in school or career,” he said. They are offered in partnership with the college’s career planning and counseling center, he explained.

Gilius said the center is aimed towards improving a student’s job-oriented and career efforts, such as how to present yourself in an interview, write a resumé and how to do well at a job fair.

Specifically, the Success Series presentations are “geared toward study skills, textbook reading, time management, overcoming procrastination and doing your best on tests,” he said. Attending the resource-rich presentations can help a student “learn a certain skill that you’re going to take back to the classroom that is going to help you do better.”

In any college, there will be a lot of coursework, stress and, often, time management problems. Having multiple classes can add up (especially when it gets to finals week), but the availability of tutors and study skills presentations are designed to help students get their school life managed.

Tutoring students is a supportive part of what the Success Series does and “is crucial,” Gilius said.

Help for everyone

It’s for all students, not just for those who are struggling or failing.

“The idea is, all of us can do better if we have a little bit of insight as to what we’re doing,” he said. He explained that tutors are able to help students with their homework, but also to develop their overall thinking. “Our tutors, their purpose is not to answer the question for the student. They’re there to help the student become a stronger student.”

Tutors will provide assistance with textbooks, notes and other class-related assessments students may receive and help to apply themselves successfully. Gilius said some students visit the tutoring center every day, because they want to do their very best work.

“The tutoring center is great, because you could be there to do your homework and you don’t have to be using the tutors – log in, sit at the table and start to work on your homework and maybe never raise the ‘red flag’ to ask for a tutor,” he said. If a student ends up getting stuck on an assignment, they may ask for help and not “go crazy” trying to figure it out themselves, he said.

The adjacent AVID room, and Mt. Hood’s Orientation Center, are also places to go if a student has questions.

Learning curve

Attendance at each Success Series presentation will vary, often depending on how far into the term it is. Early on, some students are new to Mt. Hood, so they may not realize that there is help on campus, especially a bit hidden on the library’s upper floor. “It takes awhile for people to realize that we’re here,” Gilius said.

Next comes the time students take their first exams, he said.

“When students get the results of their test, they realize that they might not be doing as well as they thought, then they’re more actively looking for help. They’re more likely to come and get help in a presentation, so our numbers tend to increase, as the term goes on,” he said.

The test-taking seminars at mid-term and final exam times are well-attended, and there might be 20-25 people, said Gilius. Some have drawn 30 people.

To better fix their school life, “I would say, (students) should use the services that are available to them. There are so many supports on this campus to help them choose their classes, to help them do their best in those classes and to help them with the skills of studying,” he said. Students should also use their teacher as a reference for help, and will “do much better when reaching out to those resources and will enjoy their life much more.”

Tools for improvement

Gilius notes that a main mistake students make is to isolate themselves from the rest of the ‘community’ that is here to support and help them, so they instead should open themselves to that help and to receive it.

Other common student mistakes are “taking too many courses and (attempting) too much, or they’re attempting a lot and they don’t have good time management skills,” Gilius said. They can get more done if they know how to manage their time efficiently.

Sleep is important, too, because it’s part of how we learn. “If we deny ourselves sleep, then we don’t remember what we studied the previous day,” Gilius said. Getting exercise and having a good diet is also essential.

Something that’s stuck with Gilius is his supervisor, Lauren Smith, saying, “Everyone has their own talents and skills.” That means every student has their own strengths and their own weaknesses. “Using that mindset, it helps to provide students the help they need,” he said.

You can get an appointment with one of the learning specialists at: (503) 491-7108.

For more information about the Success Series, you can visit their website at: mhcc.edu/SuccessSeriesEvents.