Megan Fung has recently joined Penn State World Campus as a tutoring coordinator. She’s sharing some thoughts in this blog post about her role in helping students find tutoring services at Penn State.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
I was born and raised in Nebraska — Go Huskers! — and came to Penn State — We Are! — to earn my Ph.D. in English literature. While earning my degree, I discovered I love working with and for students in all sorts of subjects. I enjoy learning from them as much as I enjoy teaching them.
I am a teacher first and foremost, but I’m also passionate about online education. I have taught courses online for English, and I started my college career in an online environment. I’m excited about my new position and how I can help students succeed, and I believe in the importance of student support in online learning.
How are you assisting Penn State World Campus students?
I am the point of contact between students and the tutoring services that Penn State World Campus offers. Students can reach out to me if they have questions about our tutoring services or need help choosing the right support for their needs.
I’ll also be working closely with the rest of the Academic Support Team to coordinate our support services with faculty, library staff, and advisers.
Can you describe the depth of tutoring services that are available to our students?
Penn State World Campus offers a range of tutoring services. Tech Tutors can assist students with software questions, technical difficulties, and digital literacy. Penn State Learning offers guided study groups for math and statistics courses. The libraries support units on information literacy and research skills in some of our courses.
Tutor.com is available in select courses to support student learning. For example, English students can seek out help with writing through live sessions and essay reviews at Tutor.com. It’s a great resource and one I’m excited to share with students.
What’s a great success story of a student that you’ve worked with that you’d like to share with us?
Before coming to Penn State World Campus, I worked in the Writing Center at Penn State University Park. My favorite student was from Thailand. We spent a year together. I helped her with her writing, and she impressed me with her grit, intelligence, and tenacity. She also taught me a lot about Thailand and her own interests. It was a great relationship because we taught each other. By the end of the year, she was producing top-notch research papers in ENGL 15. It was awesome to see her succeed.
What’s the one thing about Penn State World Campus Academic and Enrollment Services that surprises you?
How diverse and engaged my co-workers are. I’m not sure if this surprised me, but it excites me! It makes coming to work an adventure. They are all so passionate about online and adult learners.
For students who may need tutoring assistance, what’s their first step in seeking help?
Approximately 1,000 students seek tutoring support each year, and the number is growing! Those students have a few ways of seeking help. They can and are encouraged to use the tutoring services that are available in their courses. Tech Tutors, for example, is available to every student.
Also, if students want to talk to someone about their needs individually, they can reach out to their instructor or adviser. I’m also happy to talk to students about the different options that Penn State provides.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I am a reader! Any kind of books, many genres, but mostly physical books and audio books. When I moved this summer, I had about fifteen boxes of books. Currently I’m reading Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather, rereading Sense and Sensibility, and listening to Charles Mann’s 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created.
What’s your favorite part about being a Penn Stater?
I’m always learning at Penn State. A student may be an expert in something that I want to learn about or I may want to learn something to help a student. Also, I’ve enjoyed meeting students from all across the world and from many backgrounds.
Finally, eating ice cream at the Arboretum in the summer is the best, especially since that was one of my first dates with my husband!
If you need tutoring help, contact Megan at 814-867-2159 or mjd1037@psu.edu.
