See how Covel Peer Learning has helped countless students!
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“The experience I had at Covel this year was absolutely invaluable. I doubt that I would have understood my math class this quarter if this resource hadn’t been available. Closing down Covel would undoubtedly hurt many students like me in the future.” –Patrick Ryan
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“As an undergraduate at UCLA, my experiences as a tutor, workshop presenter, and Peer Advising Network mentor were not only the highlights of my academic experience but critical to my future decision to become an educator. I was passionate about working with students who needed help with their writing and received so much positive feedback not just aimed at myself, but at my colleagues as well.” -Golriz Golkar, UCLA 2005
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“As a student who has experienced many of the tutoring programs and external academic help on this campus, I can assure you that the removal of Covel tutoring is a genuine mistake. UCLA, in its creation, demonstrated leadership in open opportunity and full support in student excellence and the desire to achieve. How can we collect high tuition and promise parents that we offer the best services for their students, and yet ignore these very same students for the next four years? It is illogical and in violation of the very principles that UCLA was founded upon. Return the Covel tutoring workshops, that the body of UCLA is calling out for. Return the Corbin physics workshops, that were also removed in a similar manner. Restore UCLA to its former glory, before we realize there is nothing left.” – Jen Lee _______________________________________________________
“…Covel tutoring offered the benefits of attending a private school in a free and public setting; small class sizes, a teacher with whom you can converse openly and can truly relate to, and most importantly, a collaborative environment in which students can build their abilities to think critically and problem solve through discussion with one another. This is a vital part of the college education, and it will become more difficult to obtain it if the program is cut… Those involved in the decision may not have an understanding of the impact that access to free tutoring has on students. It creates a sense of community and the feeling that we are cared for as individuals; peer learning facilitators are willing to answer questions and address more personal concerns about classes or adjusting to UCLA in general, and that is an extremely important resource!”
– Nisha Wadhwa, Fourth Year MIMG Major
_______________________________________________________ “… Covel has been there to clarify any confusing points for me in math and science, arguably some of the most difficult classes at UCLA. Without Covel, I may never have understood some of the deeper concepts which would impair me for future classes.” – Daniel Meirovitch
_______________________________________________________ “AITC was key to my success as an undergraduate while at UCLA, particularly the workshops and math tutoring. I was also a writing tutor, which inspired me to become a high school English teacher! Now I advise my alumni who enroll at UCLA to make use of AITC’s services. Please understand that these services are essential for students to succeed as they transition from high school to university–the differences in size, teaching style, and expectations are challenging for all students, and these services, from tutoring to workshops.”
– Stacy Ishigaki _______________________________________________________
“Covel helped me improve my writing so much. Structure has never been a problem for me; it is sentence level issues that I struggle on. Covel not only helped fix my sentences on papers, but it taught me how to look out for it on my own.” -Selena Zhov _______________________________________________________
“This was my first quarter doing Covel tutoring and I noticed an immense difference in my understanding. The school is so big and so are the classes. It is really hard to get individual attention. It has been so nice that UCLA has offered this.” -Lindsey Sweeney
_______________________________________________________ “I’m an international student in my 1st year at UCLA and Covel Peer Learning Lab really helps me a lot in my past quarters. This is a great source where we can find help and advice from nice and knowledgeable peers. I really hope the Covel Peer Learning Lab can keep growing at UCLA. WE REALLY LOVE AND NEED THIS!!!!” -Yixin Xie _______________________________________________________
“As a former peer tutor, I can honestly tell you I would not be here today were it not for the things I learned at through AITC and Covel Peer Learning Services. It is beyond embarrassing that when I went home over break to speak about colleges, when next to many other schools including UCs, I was forced to answer that we were at this point unable to provide tutoring services for the majority of UCLA students. Please rectify this wrongdoing immediately.” -Josh Wasabin _______________________________________________________
“As a freshman, Covel Peer Learning saved me. I was beyond nervous for classes and was thinking this place wasn’t for me. My Math 31B facilitator showed me through his experience and help that UCLA is manageable, it just takes hard work and effort. Without him I’d probably be a miserable student trudging through the days, instead, I found a Math 31B facilitator helping freshmen and anyone else find their way.”- Michael Saqr, 3rd year Computer Science & Engineering
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“This is vital for the freshmen coming in that have to change their study habits since high school, as the tutors here help someone who may have had bad/no study habits in high school to be able to how to compete and in general just understand material better. I know this because I was one of those freshman. I came in from high school not really knowing what college and studying entailed, and college age tutors helped me adapt my learning style to succeed. Without this serve idk where I’d be at with my GPA and success at UCLA in general.”
–Andrew Freudman ______________________________________________________
“When I was at UCLA as an undergrad, I not only worked at Covel Commons as an administrative assistant but I utilized the services Covel offered. Covel Tutorials were a big part in my success at UCLA...Covel should not be shut down. It gave students like myself a chance and hope to succeed in a university with such high standards such as UCLA.”
– Huynh-Nhu Nguyen, UCLA 2006 _______________________________________________________
“I am a freshman attending UCLA. I have just recently discovered and begun utilizing Covel’s Peer Learning services, and have found them to be extremely helpful and essential to the UCLA undergraduate community. I have been looking forward to taking advantage of these services for all of my next three years as an undergrad, so I am extremely disappointed to hear that they may be discontinued after June of this year.If we have enough money to be renovating Pauley Pavillion, then we should have enough money to provide students with programs that provide educational support such as these. Please use sound judgement and understand that Covel’s Peer Learning services are crucial to the success of many UCLA undergraduates.” – Cathy Duong
_______________________________________________________ “…In South campus, the professors aren’t always approachable and I haven’t had the best luck with TAs, but I can always come to covel for concepts to be explained and to get my questions answered. As a white female, (non athlete) this my only type of tutoring I qualify for and it saves me hairs of trying to learn concepts. Please keep Covel!!” – Elizabeth Grover
_______________________________________________________ “Covel is a life-saver. Without Covel my UCLA experience would be so much more difficult. Not only does it provide academic help, but it creates relationships between students in the same fields and fosters the creation of study groups. This helps collaboration and creates new friends.” -Thomas Amberg _______________________________________________________ “Covel’s Peer Learning has been my most useful resource so far at UCLA. This program was essential in maintaining my grades this quarter. The tutors are easy to talk to compared to the professors and TAs who often seem busy or unable to explain the material in ways students can grasp. I’d highly recommend this program to any student here.” – Crystal Nishioka
_______________________________________________________ “My first facilitator was named Alex, who in my relationship with him over that ten-week period, became my mentor and role model. His humble response to my arrogance, and his patience for others amazed me. His strategy of putting us together in groups showed me how to work cooperatively with others, but more importantly engendered in me a love to impact the way others think about and view their education and coursework. Alex was also the reason I applied to become a facilitator like him—to be able to make an impact by showing others the beauty of education and the sciences.”
– Edwin Li, 2nd Year Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology
_______________________________________________________ “Covel Peer Learning Labs is one of the most helpful and worthwhile programs that I’ve ever had access to at UCLA. Not only has it saved my grade in every Math and Science class I’ve taken, but its provided me with an environment where I’ve learned how to learn. With all of the budget issues our school is facing, I think people are losing sight of the reason we are here in the first place: to receive a quality education. Taking away a program as valuable as Covel Peer Learning not only takes away a tutoring service, but would take away a resource that countless students rely on to attain the education and knowledge they come here to receive. Please, remember why we are at this school, protect our education and save Covel Peer Learning!”
-Abby Imboden
_______________________________________________________ “Covel was a place where I felt comfortable asking questions. Also, it was very useful to work with other students. Covel helped me so much and was a resource I needed. Please do not cut Covel. Covel helps me understand material like no other resource on campus can.” -Clark Taylor _______________________________________________________ “Covel is a great resource that is vital to retain students in science and engineering. Extra help, especially in a small group setting, is difficult to obtain for lower division courses. Other tutoring services, such as AAP, are limited to a fraction of the student body, while some, such as Tau Beta Pi, are limited in terms of time and help available. The Covel programs are the most user-friendly and accessible to lower division students, and it doesn’t make sense at all to cut funding.” -Karen Lee
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“Even though I’m graduating at the end of Spring Quarter and haven’t taken Covel tutoring sessions since last year, I can look back and say that Covel tutoring was one of the most helpful things that UCLA offered me…”
– Camille Lee ________________________________________________________
“Covel has helped me tremendously in my first few quarters at UCLA….There is so, so, so much more I could say, but to keep it short, Covel is a service that everybody benefits from and that it should not be cut, because then other students will not have the chance to utilize the programs and resources out there for students, by students. “
-Yujia, first year pre-MIMG student
______________________________________________________ “I have taken tutoring for 2 quarters and both times have helped me so much. The sessions and tutors help me make sense of topics that I find difficult and confusing…Also, the tutors are incredibly nice and I feel comfortable asking questions.” – Anne Rudolph
Save Covel Peer Learning! 
Covel Peer Learning Labs saved my life as a pre-health major. With such large, competitive classes, it’s difficult to find that extra edge enabling you to stay in the game. Covel’s collaborative style encourages students to work together to gain a better understanding for all, a learning style that is unrivaled anywhere else on UCLA’s campus. This type of environment is what makes learning possible and maximizes student growth and success. My personal experiences as a Covel student motivated me to become a facilitator, with hopes of giving back to the program that promoted my own academic successes. Losing Covel Peer Learning Labs is a disservice to these students, and ultimately to UCLA itself.
Where to begin…I honestly don’t know. Coming to UCLA as a freshmen I was fortunate enough to be placed into the Peer advising network. Although, I knew other people at the school…they were all also lost freshmen. I didn’t ask my mentor everyone question in the world, but it sure did feel great to have someone I could ask pertinent questions about UCLA. My experience was so positive, I decided to serve as a mentor myself (in order to help other lost freshmen like myself adjust to life at UCLA).
Equally invaluable, the covel tutoring. I know for a fact that I would not have passed math 31a had not been for every extra bit of help I received from my peer facilitator (and I know so many others who agree). Take away AITC and you take away a valuable resource from many future Bruins.
~Eric Vera, 2nd year IDS
Closing down Academics in the Commons would be the biggest mistake made here at UCLA – not only academically, but in all other aspects as well. So many schools look at UCLA and are impressed with the Peer Advising Network, the Discussion Leaders for the “Academic Success” course, the various workshops students lead to sharing their knowledge with other Bruins.
I have met some of my closest friends through AITC. I have also introduced some of my closest friends to get involved with AITC because of everything I had gained from being a part of the programs. One of the greatest things about AITC is that it is the beginning of a human network that Bruins can create just by interacting with their peers. Not only that, Bruce Barbee is the most amazing advisor and it has been a pleasure learning from him, working with him, and sharing his wisdom with my residents and mentees.
Taking away AITC is like throwing a child on a beach cruiser because training wheels are too expensive to provide. If there is no foundation like what AITC has to offer the students, I can honestly say that more and more students will come into UCLA feeling lost and overwhelmed for a much longer period of time.
Covel is undoubtedly one of the greatest aspects of the UCLA academic community. It’s removal would represent a huge academic loss and will cripple the support system that UCLA offers its students. After 2 years at this school, I have a 4.0 GPA solely because of the incredible support that Covel Peer Learning offers. Not only does Covel help you understand the material of the class that you’re studying for, but it also introduces you to college-level study habits and time-management skills that are essential for academic success in general. I am seriously indebted to all of the Covel Peer advisors who’ve helped me.
Covel Tutoring is especially helpful for first year student new to the demands of college academics. It gives them a chance to see what UCLA professors expect and encourages them to be confident and positive in their studying. It most definitely shaped my perception of UCLA academics for the better.
The idea of closing Covel Peer Learning is shocking because it is the main source of academic assistance for so many students. Granted professor and TA office hours are meant to fulfill a similar role, but the volume of students needing help, the busy lives of instructors, and narrowness of the available times, make them not even half as effective as what Covel offers. I would happily forgo any number of social events that UCLA offers if it meant that Covel’s doors remain open. And I honestly hope, for the sake of those students who are towards the beginning of their studies at UCLA, that Covel Tutoring remains available. Thank you, Covel, for making me a much more well-rounded, intelligent, and happy UCLA student.
Discovering the Peer Learning center at Covel this previous quarter meant that I didn’t have to be afraid of math anymore. The services provided here are invaluable to my educational experience, and to those of other students like me. Just because I do not qualify for AAP does not mean I have the money to hire a tutor, nor does it mean I am any more likely to learn well from office hours. I am hurt that there will no longer be a tutoring service for the general undergraduate public. It was an effective and, as I thought, indispensable program, and it will be greatly missed.
My testimonial comes from the perspective of one having attended workshops, been a PAN Mentor, graduated from UCLA and gone onto graduate school in the field of teaching. I am working on a Master’s degree at a state university and there are various on-campus peer learning centers that provide similar services as that of AITC. As prospective teachers, we have the opportunity to work as tutors for students who need academic assistance, much like the free tutoring services offered at AITC. These various centers are the “go-to” places on-campus for students who need help. And there are many of them. Yet, the competition for these services seems lax, if not nonexistent, quite contrary to the number of the students that line up to sign up for tutoring at AITC. UCLA students know AITC services are valuable and rare to come by and they know that it makes a difference in their academic performance.
Even after graduating from UCLA, since I am in a teaching-focused graduate program, I think about education all the time, especially from the perspective of the instructor. I think about college students, where they are coming from, and what they need to succeed coming into a college environment. If AITC closes, where is the “go-to” place for tutoring at UCLA? How is UCLA supposed to uphold its core values in fostering a cooperative, supportive learning environment when an instructor can only tell students that there are no UCLA tutoring services offered on campus and the student must somehow figure it out him/herself?
The benefits of AITC stretch far beyond that of only students who need academic assistance. It affects the students who participate as mentors, tutors, and workshop leaders, positions all directly associated with leadership and growth. I remember when going through the PAN Mentor training classes, prospective mentors were pushed to reflect upon our experience at UCLA and ways we could use that experience to help incoming freshmen/transfer students. We became sensitive to the community around us: who the students and faculty around us were, where UCLA’s resources were offered, and how to enhance In a sense, we became ambassadors. I can think of no better investment for UCLA.
I still associate myself with those roles even after having graduated, especially in aspiring to be a teacher who inspires those roles within my students. AITC’s influence is not limited to a certain group of students, major, or career path. Yet, for it to have any influence at all for the UCLA community, it has to be there.
Covel tutoring was essential to me as an undergraduate struggling in my science classes. As a freshman entering college, these courses were extremely challenging and I NEEDED the help offered through Covel. These tutors provide a structured learning environment to supplement difficult courses and offer a vital resource to students like me. I did not have the financial resources to afford private tutoring and would not have passed these courses without the support I received at Covel. After learning successful study and test-taking skills at Covel, I earned very good grades in my later years at UCLA and graduated with honors.