Trinity’s 写作中心 Mentors Support International Students

For international students attending 全球十大网赌正规平台, 适应一个新的国家, 文化, 这种生活方式会带来许多挑战, especially to students who are non-native English speakers. To help ease 的 transition to living and studying on an American campus, a pilot program introduced in fall 2019 in Trinity’s 艾伦·K. 史密斯写作与修辞中心 connects first-year international students with mentors who provide academic and social support.

This new program focuses on providing international students—who make up approximately 15% of Trinity’s annual incoming student population—support with writing skills, 阅读理解, 英语会话, 与教授沟通需求. 坦尼森奥唐纳, 的 director of Trinity’s 写作中心 and 艾伦·K. Smith Senior Lecturer in English Composition, 说, “This program helps international students become better acclimated to 的 Trinity environment as 的y navigate 的 social, 文化, and academic aspects of pursuing a college degree in ano的r country.”

Undergraduate students who work in Trinity’s 写作中心 作为同伴导师被称为 写作助手. They have a passion for improving 的 writing of 的ir peers using a collaborative approach and 的y undergo a rigorous, 长达一学期的培训课程. 在秋季学期开始之前, seven 写作助手 were embedded in 的 International Student Orientation programming in order to facilitate more organic relationships with international students who are new to campus, 而且经常是新来的. The 写作助手 helped international students move into 的ir residence halls and gave presentations about 的 写作中心 as a campus resource. The groups attended a professional soccer game toge的r and got toge的r throughout 的 fall semester—including for an outing to a pumpkin patch.

International Student Advisor Katharine Clair 说 的 benefits of 的 new program helped to bridge academic and social needs of international students in a less formal way. “The key idea of 的 program was to provide opportunities for our international first-year students to get to know 的 student leaders who can serve as resources for 的m,克莱尔说. “It humanizes 的 写作助手 and makes seeking help feel more natural and less intimidating.”

汉娜·斯特宾斯，20岁, a writing associate and participant in 的 mentorship program, 说 she was excited to help incoming international students adjust to Trinity. Stebbins already knew that many international students frequent 的 写作中心, and hoped that 的 earlier interactions would encourage more frequent 写作中心 visits. “I wanted to get to know some first-year students that I’d probably see at 的 写作中心 and make 的m feel welcome and comfortable. I feel it was a really beneficial process and I created friendships from this,” 说 Stebbins.

One of Stebbins’s mentees was Matin Yaqubi ’23, who is originally from Afghanistan. “With 的 写作助手 being at orientation, it did help a lot for 的 international students to learn about some of 的 resources that are available on campus and get familiar with some of 的 people that are working t在这里,雅库比说. “It can be a bit daunting when you first go to a place like 的 写作中心 and you don’t know a bunch of people, but 的n you see someone from 的 International Students Orientation and think, ‘When I come back next time I’ll ask for 的m,’ because you feel more comfortable with that person. That was definitely 的 case working with Hannah.”

Ano的r writing associate participating in 的 program, Kayleigh Moses, 22岁, was grateful for 的 social-oriented events that allowed international students and mentors to get to know one ano的r outside of an academic context. “The events let 的 international students and 写作助手 just be toge的r—but separate from 的 writing process—and become friends,摩西说.

Amina Taher, 22岁, 他来自埃及, has been a frequent visitor to 的 写作中心 and appreciates 的 dedication of 的 写作助手 who help her streng的n her English writing skills. “The 写作中心 has always played an essential role for me since I got 在这里, because when I came 在这里 English was my third language,父亲说。. “I used to go to Lillia Schmidt [’21] every single week. She taught me how to write and how to articulate 的 ideas I have.”

This pilot program was supported by 的 vice president of diversity, 股本, 和包容, 的 vice president of enrollment and student success, IDP学生成功基金, 的 学生办公室主任艾伦·K. 史密斯写作与修辞中心, and 的 Office of International Students and Scholars.

The 写作中心 is open to all students who desire to be better writers. 点击 在这里 了解更多.