Christina Bauert
Features Reporter

Photo by Christina Bauert

If you stop by the Tutorial Learning Center seeking help with homework, odds are you’ll spot a young, tall and lean man overseeing the entire place.

Darell Diedrich, Coordinator of Tutorial Services, does it all, including meeting with department heads to spread the word about the TLC’s services.

“Our primary function is to help students become independent learners. We do that by giving students one-on-one guidance,” Diedrich said, adding that math is the most in-demand subject for tutors.

“Our tutors are certified through College Reading & Learning Association,” Diedrich said, gesturing at the TLC’s main room, filled with students and peer tutors.

Roughly 70 tutors currently work in the TLC, mostly tutoring general education subjects.

“Students think that tutors don’t have to work hard at what they do, that they are just naturally good at it. But that’s not true. They [tutors] are good at it because they work hard,” Diedrich said.

Sam Hebenstreit, a physics major and a TLC tutor said, “I try to guide [students] through concepts and let them work through these concepts themselves.”

“I always feel better when I walk out,” said Emily Gaasche, a biology major who seeks out tutoring on a regular basis.

A native of Colorado and a graduate of Northern Arizona University, Diedrich has been with TLC since fall of 2012. Before becoming the TLC’s coordinator, Diedrich was an instructor and advisor at CMU. An English major, Diedrich also tutors English and said that he utilized the TLC’s services for help with math when he was an undergraduate at CMU.

“I am pretty nerdy,” Diedrich, whose computer and desk are covered in sticky notes adjacent to office shelves packed with books, said of himself.

On any given day in the TLC, one will find students and tutors discussing English grammar and chemistry concepts. Several math tutors circle the room just to see if anyone needs a hand. At times it is hard to tell the difference between students and tutors, since all tutors are students themselves.

Diedrich encourages all CMU students to take advantage of the TLC’s services, especially the new distance learning program, Adobe Connect. The program has replaced Skype, which lacked a “white board” feature that allows tutors and students to see each others’ writing.

The TLC is located on the first floor of Houston Hall in room 113. For those wishing to become a tutor, there are a few conditions: a potential tutor must be a current CMU student with a minimum GPA of 2.7, have a strong interest in a particular subject and receive a faculty recommendation.