Since 2018, Union has offered free peer tutoring for any student and in any class — as one postcard the university sends to prospective students proudly proclaims, “We’re not a sink-or-swim school.” Philanthropic support pays peer tutors who act as life vests for many struggling students — at no cost to the students.
For notoriously difficult classes, the Student Success Center hires tutors who aced those courses in previous semesters before the new students think to request tutoring. Across campus, 22 peer tutors are ready to help students level up in subjects ranging from accounting to Greek. Obsinet Wakatole, a biomedical science major from Ethiopia, is one of those peer tutors. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening, she’s available in the Student Success Center to help with biology, chemistry, math and statistics.
“There was this guy who was really hesitant to come to peer coaching at first,” she recalled. “He told me he was scared people would think he was dumb, and he didn’t want to embarrass himself. But from the first session, I could tell he was smart — he just lacked confidence.”
The struggling student started coming nearly every night, and step-by-step, Wakatole walked him through his College Algebra homework. “He asked questions, put in the effort, and honestly, he worked harder than most people I’ve seen,” she said. “Little by little, I saw his confidence grow. The way he started approaching problems changed — he wasn’t second-guessing himself anymore, just solving them.”
By the end of the semester, he wasn’t struggling anymore. “He finished College Algebra with an A,” she remembered. “Seeing how proud he was made everything worth it. He came in thinking he wasn’t smart enough, but he proved to himself and everyone else that he was more than capable. That’s what I love about peer coaching — sometimes people just need a little support to realize what they’re capable of.”
That student’s victory over algebra was a team win starring himself, his professor, his tutor, and you — the alumni, constituents and friends who support The Union Fund every year. Make your impact at uau.edu/giving.
