Hello! I’m Ethel and I’m a third-year biology student with a minor in English language. I’ve spent my whole life in Richmond, BC so you could say I’m pretty local. I was a peer tutor for BIOL 121 for the entire 2020/2021 term. Even though it was all online, it was such a fun experience! I’m also a volunteer at AMS Peer Support here at UBC and a regional director for the non-profit organization Motive, Word & Pen.
Just a little fun fact: if I were a fruit, I’d probably be a cranberry. They look like they have a lot of fun floating on the water and that’s the level of calm I aspire to achieve.
What do you most enjoy about being a peer tutor?
Engagement with the students has to be the best part of being a peer tutor! There are so many brilliant minds in the classroom from all different backgrounds. It’s so amazing having the opportunity to get to know every student as individuals. Also, being a peer tutor in an online setting, monitoring the chat on Zoom tends to get pretty entertaining at times too, you get to see who’s up and ready to go at 9:30am and who wishes they were still asleep.
What has being a peer tutor brought to your undergraduate experience?
Being a peer tutor has made me more self-aware of how I speak to others. I’m someone who quite often uses a lot of filler words and speaks too fast for my own good. Through peer tutoring, I managed to slow down and cull unnecessary words to ensure careful communication of material. I found this to help me a lot as an undergrad student too, as it really helps me tune into the important information when writing reports and emails.
How has your unique background influenced your peer tutoring experience?
I was an Imagine Day orientation leader this year through the online transition, which really helped me develop my mentorship and facilitation skills on a virtual setting. There are some elements that work really well in-person but will fall through online. Through cases of trial and error, I learned how to better navigate around technology issues and effectively engage students through a screen. I was also a Jumpstart orientation leader in the prior year, so I am quite experienced working with first-year students and the general struggles and success they face within this jump from high school to university. Through these experiences, I was better equipped with the tools needed for promoting effective learning.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I bake a lot, as I find it to be just the right amount of chaotic while being therapeutic. Mostly, cakes and cookies are within my lane, but sometimes I try for breads too if I’m feeling adventurous. I also tend to bake way too much for my own good, so a lot of the products are shared with my friends, which makes the whole activity better! I love trying out new recipes and integrating Asian flavours in them too (black sesame and matcha are currently my favourites).
What are your plans following graduation?
I plan on going to grad school for research in marine ecology or algal biodiversity. This will probably still be at UBC, as Vancouver’s coasts are home to the most beautiful marine life. And maybe a PhD in the far, far future? Just kidding…unless? But the future is proven to be uncertain (as we’ve all seen this year), so we’ll see where we go!