It’s our Diamond Jubilee!
In honor of our college’s 60th anniversary, we’re
preparing a special edition of ACCESS ACM for
the fall. You can be part of our celebration.
Alumni Milestones and Special Memories:
Visit allegany.edu/alumni to submit your Alumni
Milestones or special memories of an ACC/ACM
instructor or staff member who made a difference in your
educational journey.
Student Photos:
Email images from your time as an
ACC/ACM student to jgetz@allegany.
edu. We’ll add them to our archives
and possibly feature them in our 60th
anniversary publication. Please caption
your photos.
Tech Savvy: Persisting and Making a Difference, Virtually
continued from page 14
can sometimes relate better to
somebody a little bit younger.
They’re able to connect in a
different way.”
Another tutor, Shawna Layton,
also found connections to her
students and something more –
perhaps a different career goal.
A former student of Wilson’s and
a Washington Middle School alum,
Layton is currently enrolled as a
Secondary Education major at FSU.
Like Hummel, she graduated from
ACM in December, having earned
her Associate of Science in Teacher
Education - Secondary Area of
Concentration, an Associate
of Science in History Area of
Concentration, and a General
Studies Certificate.
Layton was assigned sixth to
eighth graders to tutor for one
and two-hour sessions. The range
17 ACCESS ACM / Engaging Ideas
in their ages gave her a better
understanding of the challenges
they were facing as teens.
Sometimes students wouldn’t log
in for their sessions which she
chalked up to normal teen behavior.
Other times, there were real
reasons for their absences.
“Working with these girls
brought home the importance of
motivation and how to engage
students when you can’t be there
in person,” noted Layton. “In
learning about them, I learned more
about me. I discovered that I’m
interested in eventually becoming
a guidance counselor. I don’t know
that I would’ve considered that
without this experience.”
Wilson and Gilles also heard
positive remarks directly from
Washington Middle parents. The
parent of a student enrolled in our
After School program made a point
to tell me that the tutoring was
incredibly helpful,” said Wilson.
“One parent was upset that it
the tutoring for her daughter by
an ACM intern was ending. She
had seen such a difference in her
daughter’s confidence level, thanks
to her work with her college tutor,”
noted Gilles.
Fortunately, that student wasn’t
without a tutor for long. When
asked if ACM students would be
willing to voluntarily tutor students
after the close of the fall semester,
Hummel – the ACM tutor/now FSU
student responsible for boosting
that student’s confidence – virtually
raised her hand.
One of our favorite literacy activity videos was prepared by ACM Student Michelle House.
It included a reading of Linda Skeers’ enchanting book, The Dinosaur Lady: The Daring
Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist as well as a recommendation to
check out PBS Kid’s Dinosaur Train activities online.
/alumni
link
