Jennifer Gracia
Reporter
With work, school and families, students can often feel overwhelmed. Fortunately, Del Mar College’s Student Success Center is available to help with many issues.
“We are here to empower the students, and have made a commitment to help students succeed,” said SSC coordinator Eva DeLaGarza.
A student can go to the SSC to find peer tutoring, attend workshops, check out laptops and calculators at the Technology Resource Center and see if they qualify for the TRiO program.
The Student Success Center is located on the first floor of the St. Clair building on Del Mar’s East Campus.
Peer tutoring takes place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday in SSC 111. The tutors are actual students who must meet a 3.0 GPA overall and in the tutoring subject. Students can get help in all subjects including math, science, history and English.
Wes Petty (left) tutors Jeffrey Gutierrez (right) in math.
Student workshops, which are usually housed in SSC 119, are overseen by the college’s Student Engagement and Retention Division. The Counseling Department, Disability Services, TRiO and SSC put on different workshops that range from stress management to test-taking tips for students. The workshops take place from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. A complete schedule can be found at the Peer Tutoring Lab.
The Technology Resource Center is in SSC 120. TRC is a lab where students can use computers and printers. It is also the place where students can go check out laptops or calculators for two weeks at a time. The process takes about 10-15 minutes if it your first time signing up. The lab is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.
The TRiO program, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, assists qualified low-income individuals, first-generation college students and individuals with disabilities.
“We provide tutoring and mentoring services with a goal to increase the college retention and graduation rates of our participants,” said Dion Krupa, program coordinator.
Additional information on TRIO can be found in SSC 111.
The Student Success Center also houses the Supplemental Instruction Program, which is headed by instructor Ron Huskin. The program is for tutoring leaders to help students from the same class with instruction on a more one-on-one level. Supplemental Instruction usually takes place in SSC 109.
If a student or prospective student is in need of guidance or support, they can find it at the Student Success Center.
“We want to keep students here, supplying them with the support system they need,” DeLaGarza said.
More info about the Student Success Center is available by calling 698-2259.
