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Peer Tutor Tuesdays with Ann Lin

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Ann Lin

Name:        Ann Lin

Program:  Accounting

What attracted you to becoming a Peer tutor?

I’ve always enjoyed helping classmates in class. Being able to explain something until their light bulbs switch on is satisfying.

How has tutoring helped you?

I am now a lot more patient than I used to be and I’ve managed to meet different people from different business programs.

If you could give one piece of advice to a BCIT student what would it be?

Don’t compare yourself to others! You are who you are.

What would your dream job be when you leave BCIT?

An entry-level job at Canada Revenue Agency would be awesome!

If you had a free day, how would you spend it?

Given BCIT’s course load, I would probably stay in bed and do nothing.

Ann works in the Learning Commons on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. To book an appointment check online.

Visit us during Open House for a chance to win a Fitbit!

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Where: 2nd Floor of the Burnaby Campus Library

When:  April 8 – 9, 2016, 10am – 3pm

Stop by during Open House for up to 5 chances to win:

1st prize – Fitbit Charge

2nd prize – $50 Gift Certificate to Metropolis

3rd prize – Cineplex movie package for 2

 

Here’s how:

#1.  Take a “shelfie” at our photo booth and share it on social media with the hashtag #ohbcitlibrary.

 

3D printer

#2.  Media Works has recently joined the Library Services Group and to show off one of the many services they offer, you will be able to see a 3-D printer live in action. See the printer and fill out an entry form.

 

Learning Commons

#3.  The Learning Commons offers FREE drop-in tutoring and one-to-one writing consultations. Visit their table, have a chat with one of the Peer Tutors and fill out an entry form.

 

Aerial photo of BCIT, Burnaby Campus March 6, 1963. BCIT Archives no. a000168

#4.  The Archives will be showcasing some items that were buried in a 1984 time capsule as well as vintage photographs of special guests visiting BCIT and women in trades. Visit the displays and fill out an entry form.

 

Research Help Desk

#5.  Our display case will map out what’s available on all three floors of the Library. Have a look, then stop by the Research Help Desk and fill out an entry form.

For a detailed description of the activities and displays going on at the Burnaby campus visit the BCIT Open House website.

Hope to see you there!

Peer Tutor Tuesdays with Alison Smith

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Alison Smith

Name:        Alison Smith

Program:  Nuclear Medicine

What attracted you to becoming a Peer tutor?

I tutored students during my university education and found it most rewarding.  Having attended tutoring last year, I wanted to help my fellow students and provide them guidance about my experiences in the program.

How has tutoring helped you?

Tutoring has helped me become better at problem solving.  I have also come to better appreciate the different ways we learn. Not all students learn the same way, so I have to think of different angles to approach each problem. This ensures I am changing the student’s perspective on the problem and finding a new method that they understand.

If you could give one piece of advice to a BCIT student what would it be?

Take time to reward yourself (exercising, watching a movie or getting some fresh air) after finishing assignments. It is a great way not only to relieve stress but also maintain a high level of concentration on each topic.

What would your dream job be when you leave BCIT?

My dream job would be to working as a full-time Nuclear Medicine technologist, hopefully with all of my classmates. I have made such great friends and will miss being around them everyday after we graduate.

If you had a free day, how would you spend it?

I enjoy baking. Whenever I have free time I like to try making extravagant desserts. My newest challenge is to try to make a croquembouche.

We hope Alison and her friends find their dream job as Nuclear Medicine technologists and are able to celebrate with a homemade croquembouche!

A warm welcome to …

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James Rout

Please join us in welcoming James Rout the new Director, Library Services starting April 1, 2016.

James is joining the institute following six years at Emily Carr University, where he has most recently served as Associate Vice-President, Learning Services, Information Technologies and University Librarian. James has more than 20 years of library experience, and has also been involved in the design of several significant campus development projects.

During his previous 11 years at The Banff Centre, James was involved in the planning and transition to a new state-of-the-art library and archives facility in the Kinnear Centre for Creativity. More recently, he has been deeply engaged in the planning process for a new campus for Emily Carr University. He has served on numerous boards and professional organizations, and he has led the development of several innovative projects, including an award-winning streaming media system.

We are excited to see what James has in store for the Library given his broad knowledge of all aspects of teaching, learning, technology and librarianship.

Peer Tutor Tuesdays with Jonathan Bond

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Jonathan Bond

Name:        Jonathan Bond (yes, really, my parents didn’t name me James)

Program:  Technical writing

What attracted you to becoming a Peer tutor?

I love to talk about writing with other people and believe that being able to write competently will help you, no matter who you are.

How has tutoring helped you?

Tutoring helped to remind me that while I enjoy sitting down and knocking out four or five pages, writing can be a special kind of hell for others. But it has to be done and doesn’t have to be agony.

If you could give one piece of advice to a BCIT student what would it be?

No one will follow this advice, even if it will make their life immensely easier: as soon as you get an assignment…..START! Starting is the hardest part but you know what’s harder? Rebounding from procrastination. Finish 3-4 days early and reread your work.

What would your dream job be when you leave BCIT?

A job where I make the rules and then I can have a coffee mug at the office that says “The buck stops here” or something equally trite.

If you had a free day, how would you spend it?

I would write exactly what I wanted, eat tacos, go for dinner with friends and somehow fit in a surprise trip to San Francisco with someone who I thought was super nifty.

Thank you Jonathan! We hope you get your ideal free day soon!

 

Peer Tutor Tuesdays with Gurinderpal Singh Dhillon

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Gurinder Dhillon

Name:       Gurinderpal Singh Dhillon

Program:  Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology (ECET), Power Option – Level 4

What attracted you to becoming a Peer tutor?

I like to teach other students. I want to know how other people think and how they tackle any problem.

How has tutoring helped you?

It’s a good way to review all the stuff I learned in previous semesters.

If you could give one piece of advice to a BCIT student what would it be?

I know a lot of BCIT students just study all day and night and don’t pay much attention to their health. My advice to them would be don’t stress out too much. Go to the gym or do other physical activity and stay healthy because your health is the most important. You can be a lot more productive if you stay healthy.

What would your dream job be when you leave BCIT?

I would like to work as an Electrical Technologist/Designer/Field Service Representative.

If you had a free day, how would you spend it?

I would workout, hang out with friends.

We wish you all the best Gurinderpal and hope you find that dream job!

Peer Tutor Tuesday with Andrea Hoegler

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Andrea Hoegler

Name:       Andrea Hoegler

Program:  Sustainable Resource Management

What attracted you to becoming a Peer tutor?

I have always had an interest in teaching. Prior to coming to BCIT, I worked as an ESL teaching assistant in a middle school and also tutored adults who had not completed high school. Having not yet worked with people in my own age group or at the post-secondary level, I saw peer tutoring as a new challenge and exciting opportunity.

How has tutoring helped you?

Tutoring has definitely made me realize that all students have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to learning, and it has even helped me to recognize my own. As both a student and tutor at BCIT, I have also really learned to appreciate working with and helping others to achieve common goals.

If you could give one piece of advice to a BCIT student what would it be?

Manage your time well, and get some rest!

What would your dream job be when you leave BCIT?

I’m still figuring out what my dream job is, but I’m hoping to work in the field of urban forestry and/or environmental education and outreach.

If you had a free day, how would you spend it?

Hiking, followed by eating lots of sushi!

Andrea can definitely help you develop your writing skills. To book an appointment, visit the Writing Centre online.

Peer Tutor Tuesdays with Charles Gallagher

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Charles Gallagher

Name:       Charles Gallagher

Program:  Mechanical Engineering Degree

What attracted you to becoming a Peer tutor?

I was attracted to becoming a peer tutor to improve my leadership skills while helping others to succeed.

How has tutoring helped you?

Tutoring has helped me to work with and understand a variety of people coming from different directions and backgrounds.  My learning and teaching skills have improved and tutoring sessions act as a great way to review previous course material.

If you could give one piece of advice to a BCIT student what would it be?

Read your textbooks on the bus; you paid for them!

What would your dream job be when you leave BCIT?

My dream job after leaving BCIT would be a junior engineering position with a Vancouver-based start-up company in the clean energy transportation sector.

If you had a free day, how would you spend it?

If I had a free day, I would go for a nice long day hike.

Charles is a welcome addition to the Learning Commons and we wish him all the best!

 

Peer Tutor Tuesdays with Levi DeVries

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Levi DeVries

Name:        Levi DeVries

Program:  Mechanical Engineering

What attracted you to becoming a Peer tutor?

I enjoy teaching things to people. I find it very satisfying to be able to explain a difficult concept in such a way that someone who was having trouble is now able to understand it.

How has tutoring helped you?

Tutoring others has helped reinforce concepts that I had learned earlier on in my degree but I had begun to forget.  Additionally, the act of teaching a concept to someone else helps me increase my own level of understanding in that subject.

If you could give one piece of advice to a BCIT student what would it be?

Be very intentional about writing neatly and clearly organizing your work (especially when you are learning something new!).

What would your dream job be when you leave BCIT?

I would like to design heavy machinery and mobile equipment.

If you had a free day, how would you spend it?

Fishing.

If you’re looking for help in Mechanical Engineering, stop by the Learning Commons and say hello to Levi!

What’s all this fuss about retirement? – by David Pepper, Director, Library Services

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For over eight years David Pepper has been a part of our BCIT Library family.  As David prepares to retire we know that we will miss not only his vision, leadership, and support,  but also his infectious smile, sense of humour, and last but not least all of the homemade treats he shared with us.  

 We wish David a retirement filled with health, adventures, and happiness! 

David recently shared this speech at his retirement celebration and we thought it was worth sharing:

Ever since I announced my retirement, conversations have swirled around the following:

Anticipation … Expectation … Uncertainty … Apprehension … Excitement … “Do you have a well-planned strategy, or are you going to just wing it”?

None of these feelings are new – to me or to you. Sounds like how I felt the night before I was married … the day I started grad school … my first position at UBC … day 1 at BCIT … the birthing rooms when both daughters were being born.

So, why all the fuss about retirement? What is the differentiator that makes this experience unlike anything else? I’ve come to the conclusion – are you ready – it’s really all about not being the boss of anyone, or not having a boss! Effective January 1, 2016,  I won’t have to take or give direction, balance someone else’s budget, stress or dream about unfinished projects, deadlines, selection committees … I will be a free agent! Right?! Hmmm …

I started working (for pay) when I was around 12. My first boss was my father who paid me for ridding the garden of cabbage moths (1 cent/moth) – slam dunk, you say? No way! I had to develop a strategy: had to get to know the moth’s takeoff and landing habits, had to plan for uncertainty (rainy days when the moths didn’t appear), there was apprehension that dad would say he’d exhausted his budget on pest control & I would be out of work – or that my brother would decide he had a better control method and I would be forced out by the competition.

My teen years would be marked by a number of ventures – and each one would teach me the values of persistence, creative thinking, how to deal with a difficult boss etc., highlighted perhaps by a summer spent in an underground copper mine on Vancouver Island. That was my coming-of-age-summer!

Anticipation … Expectation … Uncertainty … Apprehension … Excitement … they all still accompanied me.

I’ve been really fortunate in my professional career to spend time in private, government and academic settings covering disciplines as diverse as mining, engineering, chemical processes, forestry, biomedical sciences, trade development … post-secondary education at the college, university and institutional levels. It might seem contradictory but it’s been a great experience being part of the library profession where we keep trying to assert our value to our client base. The result – we’ve never been complacent because we’re always trying to reinvent ourselves.

I’ve had opportunities to speak at conferences in the South Pacific, New York City, San Francisco … to teach college and university students – to shatter a few paradigms and create new ones with some of the most intelligent and wonderful human beings on the planet! I’ve also had dysfunctional bosses and employees – fortunately they have been few in number. My favourite boss lived in Atlanta, GA while I was based in Vancouver! Every experience helped to mould me in some important way that informed the drama played out in my life.

So, yes, I’m going to be a free agent come January – NO BOSSES ??? Hmmm …

“In the privacy of the heart take out the album of your own life and search it for the people and places you have loved and learned from yourself, and for those moments in the past -many of them half forgotten-through which you glimpsed, however dimly and fleetingly, the sacredness of your own journey.” Sacred Journey by Frederick Buechner

I am still accountable – to my family – Diane, Dana/Nolan, Deborah/Kevin – and my granddaughters – all of whom have blessed me in more ways that I will ever know. I’m accountable to all of you my colleagues – to be true to the things I’ve learned from you. I am also accountable to the many others that I have yet to interact with and be further shaped by. Of course, I am accountable to myself – to be true to the principles learned way back when catching those cabbage moths!

Anticipation … Expectation … Uncertainty … Apprehension … Excitement … “Do you have a well-planned strategy, or are you going to just wing it”? These have all been with me since early teen years … and will continue to walk with me on the journey ahead.

“All who wander are not lost” (Tolkien) I expect – and hope for plenty of wandering ahead … and if I get lost, there’s plenty I’ve learned … and plenty of love and faith to get me back on track.

Palm Desert
October 28, 2015