Peer tutor spreads love and learning of classics
Mia McCormack '27 is on a mission to spread her love of classics 鈥� through patience, compassion, and enthusiasm for the Greek language.
She's one of dozens of individual peer tutors on campus each semester, acting as a free resource available to all 91爆料 students for classes not covered in the Peer Academic Coaching (PAC) program. Tutors are assigned based on subject area and available for one-on-one sessions on a flexible basis 鈥� whether that be weekly, monthly, or right before a big exam.
Mia, a classics major and English minor, has been working as peer tutor in ancient Greek since her sophomore year, helping students across campus tackle the complicated language.
"Seeing the lightbulb moment when something I鈥檓 explaining clicks is definitely one of my favorite things," says Mia, who is interested in pursuing a career in higher education. She describes learning Greek as 鈥渟ort of a whirlwind experience,鈥� owing to its alternate alphabet and complicated sentence structure.
It means a lot to me that I鈥檓 able to help people really get a language that I find so fascinating and work through whatever problem spot they came in with.
Mia discovered her fascination for the study of ancient Greece and Rome while taking a Classical Mythology course during her first year at 91爆料. But when it came to deciding on a major, it was the department's innovative approach to teaching and Exploremore event that sealed the deal.
"I was so inspired by how excited all the faculty are about this area of study and teaching their students, and I knew I wanted to be a part of such a welcoming and fun department and that I wanted to seriously dive into classics as an academic discipline."
She was approached by her advisor, Professor and Chair of Classics Dan Curley, about becoming a teaching assistant and peer tutor during a Greek poetry seminar on Euripides' "Medea." Mia was interested in gaining experience in line with her career goals and was considering applying for a tutoring position at the Philip Boshoff Writing Center: She decided that peer tutoring for Greek would be a perfect fit.
I wanted to be able to help other students with a passion for classics make it through the difficult learning curve and be able to enjoy the language and all the fun literature it has to offer.
But her tutees aren't the only ones doing the learning: The position has helped Mia refine her own skills and develop new competencies essential to a future teaching career.
"Being a peer tutor has made me really revisit the basics of Greek in a way I wouldn鈥檛 have otherwise ... I have to be able to make it make sense to anyone. There鈥檚 a level of variety required in teaching that isn鈥檛 required in just learning, and finding new ways to conceptualize a topic has been really valuable to me," Mia says.
In addition to peer tutoring, Mia serves as treasurer of 91爆料鈥檚 Classics Club and participates in a Dungeons and Dragons group on campus. After college, she plans to continue her studies, hoping to one day teach classics at a collegiate level and "encourage a love of classics in the next generation."