Camarillo, CA - When CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Sociology alumnus Vanessa Gonzalez was invited to apply to become tutor in the Learning Resource Center, she hesitated.

“I took a statistics course in Sociology and afterward, my professor nominated me to be a tutor and at first I felt like, am I smart enough to be a tutor?” Gonzalez said. “When I applied to become a tutor, it was different for me than for people who were born in the U.S. and would get a social security number.”

Not only is Gonzalez thriving as a tutor, but for an undocumented Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) student like Gonzalez, the LRC has been a community, a confidence-builder, and has helped shape her career plans.

“This job makes me see I want to go into a career where I help people,” said Gonzalez, a 2022 graduate.

And now the LRC has received International Tutor Training Program Certification (ITTPC) from the College Reading & Learning Association (CRLA).

“This is one of the nation’s most prestigious, well-esteemed organizations of learning assistance professionals giving us their seal of approval,” said Director of the Learning Resource Center and Academic Success Services Brook Masters.

The CRLA certification means the Learning Resource Center (LRC) follows the association’s best practices and ensures CSUCI students are being taught by highly trained tutors.

During a special celebration during Commencement Week, Gonzalez and the 60 other LRC tutors gathered at the center, which is located on the second floor of the John Spoor Broome Library, to eat pizza, cake and be presented with certificates identifying them as ITTPC certified tutors. It’s a certification that will look good on their resumes, Masters said, as they enter their chosen career field.

“I would ideally like to be a counselor who helps undocumented students, first-generation or low-income students,” Gonzalez said. “Mainly because my parents didn’t have the opportunity to go to school. My mom only finished kindergarten and my dad only finished sixth grade.”

She learned that her experience as a DACA student from a Latina/o background was actually a benefit because so many of the students she tutored could relate to her experience.

“It’s a different journey when you are undocumented,” Gonzalez said. “There was a lot of the time I was scared. When I was navigating higher education, there were things other students knew that I didn’t.”

When applying for certification, Masters had to prove that the LRC met a rigorous set of criteria. But beyond those criteria, she makes sure this tutoring center operates in ways that go above and beyond for a unique population of students. For example, Masters makes an effort to see that CSUCI tutors are diverse and can understand a diverse student body. And LRC tutors are embedded in classrooms, both online and in-person.

“Every tutor is embedded,” Masters said. “During the pandemic, when we went virtual, the students who used to come to the center for tutoring disappeared. They stopped using the services, so I thought, ‘Why not have them work in the classroom?’”

So, a tutor would attend the Zoom classes both to help students and to help faculty members struggling with the technology of switching to virtual classes. The tutors eased the workload for faculty by managing break rooms, for example, for class discussions.

“It’s not a passive center,” said Class of 2022 Psychology graduate Jet Kauffman. “We like being an active center. We go into the classroom. And the thing is, I’ve found I’m really good at it. It reshaped my thoughts about grad school. I might want to teach someday.”

Class of 2022 Psychology graduate Kayla Randall became a tutor after firsthand experience with how effective tutoring could be.

“I transferred to CSUCI in the dead middle of COVID, and I think I would have dropped out of college if it hadn’t been for my embedded tutors,” Randall said. “I’m spoiled because I assumed what we do was the norm for tutoring, but as I reached out to other colleges, I realized we are unique. I’ve talked to other grad students at other universities, and they are not embedded like we are. We are in those lectures with students every day.”

At its core, Masters said she aims to keep the tutoring flexible, with equity in mind.

“Whether you are a first gen student struggling with imposter syndrome, or a non-traditional student who struggles with having enough time for all their responsibilities, or a student with disabilities, we teach our tutors to be flexible and give students what they need—to meet them where they are,” Masters said. “Sometimes it’s an affirmation of their ability, a hug, a deep philosophical discussion or a sense of connection or belonging.”

For more on the CSUCI Learning Resource Center, or schedule summer tutoring visit: www.csuci.edu/learningresourcecenter/.