Peer Academic Coaching
If you’re not sure how to juggle upcoming deadlines, want to make better use of your study time or are looking for tips to tackle tests, we can help.
Peer academic coaches (PAC), a collaboration between Supplemental Learning (SL) and the Writing Centre, offers students the opportunity to meet one-to-one with a trained peer who has both experienced academic success and understands the challenges students may face.
Experienced SL leaders and tutors provide individualized strategies and resources to support a range of academic needs across disciplines.
Peer academic coaches can assist with time management, goal setting, study strategies, presentations, note-taking, test-taking and managing exam anxiety.
How to book
Appointments may be booked through the website on the peer academic coaches schedule, or visit the Writing Centre to get help with booking an appointment.
Where
Sessions will typically take place in the Writing Centre (Old Main room 1411) or online.
Sessions
Students are invited to book a 45-minute session with a peer academic coach, four times per semester. For additional support, the coaches are knowledgeable about other student services, and may connect students to resources such as STSS courses, Counselling, Accessibility Services, Writing or Math Help Centres.
Meet the Coaches
Disha D.
Arts & Science
Specialties: Battling Procrastination, Study & Memorization skills, Exam Preparation & Post-Exam Self-Correction StrategiesWhat drew me to become a Peer Academic Coach?
As an international student just starting university in a new country, I was looking for every resource offered by the university that would help me work through my courses. So, when I discovered Supplemental Learning & Peer Academic Coaching to be extremely helpful, I was intrigued to be a part of the team of student leaders who were guiding their peers!
Best advice I’ve ever received:
to just start. Everything seems complicated and difficult from the outside but once we start a project, be it anything, it gets much easier. This also helps battle procrastination. “Just start and the rest will come to you by itself!"
What I wish I’d known on the first day of university:
I wish someone had told me that it is not as difficult as it seems. Professors, classmates, and others are all there to support us and to help us have a good university experience. During my first semester here, I felt quite overwhelmed and unsure if I would be able to do well in disciplines I hadn’t ever studied before. But my friends, professors and all the resources on campus made me feel confident quite fast (plus, the library is extremely helpful, especially for arts students)!
Jadyn Michael
Psychology + Sociology
Specialties: time management, study skills, test stress, scheduling
What drew me to become a Peer Academic Coach?
I was drawn to this role as a way to engage with students on a more personal level and help to guide them through struggles that they have been having that I have previously faced.
I never go to class without:
Water or my iPad!
Best advice I’ve ever received:
To just start and break tasks down into more manageable components to make it feel easier to complete.
Eric Kitt
Computer ProgrammingI never go to class without:
A pencil, eraser, sharpener and lined paper. Study habits are important, but having these on me develops a routine that supports my learning habits.
What I wish I’d known on the first day of university:
Faculty at TRU are very approachable. I thought initially that because faculty mostly have doctorates and advanced degrees, they would not want to talk to first-year students. However, at TRU, reaching out to faculty via email or office hours is not only acceptable but encouraged.
My academic “a-ha moment”:
When I learned what LaTeX is, it blew my mind. Before learning about it, I had been writing all my citations and references manually. It may seem complicated at first, but if you plan to do any academic writing, I strongly recommend learning LaTeX.
What drew me to become an SL leader:
It feels good to serve my community. Students of computing science too often come by the CAN Lab asking good questions, the kind that really should be asked in a group setting, like an SL session. As an SL leader, I can serve the student body in a way that I feel is in great demand.
Kristiana Green
PsychologyMy best or most memorable SL moment:
Making friends with classmates while playing headbands.
What drew me to become an SL leader?
I learned a lot about learning and recall in SL, and I want to help others with the same.
I never go to class without:
Paper and pens because I learn best when I take handwritten notes.
Best advice I’ve ever received:
Start assignments and studying earlier than you think you need to! More time than expected is usually best.
