Former tutors tell about their experiences
Elisa (now working in the education sector)
Why did you become a tutor back then?
"I was interested in making contact with students from other countries, wanted to build connections, use my language skills and, of course, help them get started at university. As a prospective teacher, I had the impulse to support others in finding their way at university and in Dresden."
What did your tutoring work bring you personally and for your professional career?
"It taught me that you have to be flexible, that it's not important to be able to "pull off" your timetable, but to adapt it to the needs of the participants. It also removed inhibitions about speaking languages that you don't speak perfectly and finding solutions."
What advice would you like to give a future tutor?
"Just get started, you'll be in a great team of other tutors and will be given very well developed, structured and tried and tested materials. Even if you are not a teacher, you will find it easy to connect with the students. They have so many questions. You don't have to be able to answer everything perfectly, but perhaps just show them where they can get the relevant information. Embark on this adventure and you will gain a lot of great experiences and meet great people."
Tom (now working in the architecture industry)
Why did you become a tutor back then?
"During my Erasmus semester, I realized how lost and lost you can be as a foreign student at a new university, so I wanted to help those who come to us. I also wanted to build on the international feeling of my own stay abroad."
What has tutoring done for you personally and for your career?
"I was able to practice presenting complex contexts as simply and clearly as possible, reading the audience and anticipating any questions, dealing with questions within groups and individually and conveying information in a multilingual context. I was also able to practice putting myself in the shoes of others and their problems. Some of this is also indirectly important in my professional life, but above all it helped me to develop personally."
What would you like to pass on to a future tutor?
"A lot of empathy, enthusiasm and patience!"
Dessilava (now working at the Chamber of Crafts)
Why did you become a tutor back then?
"I wanted a student job at the university in order to have short distances on the one hand and - on the other - to do something meaningful for me that I felt would help me progress and in which I could continue to work on my skills."
What has tutoring done for you personally and for your career?
"It wasn't just a pure transfer of knowledge to others, but also a kind of further training for me, especially in the area of soft skills. Among other things, I learned to speak confidently in front of an audience, to organize myself better, to improvise and therefore to react more calmly in stressful situations. All of this has also helped me a lot in my other professional activities."
What advice would you like to give a future tutor?
"To definitely give it a try and stick with it for as long as possible. In addition to everything else, there is another "nice side effect", namely the social component: You get to meet lots of new people and also cultures. That also enriches you as a person."
Viviane (now working in the education sector)
Why did you become a tutor back then?
"I was interested in intercultural exchange. In addition, as a native speaker, I already had some problems getting used to studying with all its challenges and wanted to support foreign students during their time in Dresden."
What has tutoring brought you personally and for your professional career?
"I've learned to react spontaneously and flexibly to situations that I couldn't have anticipated beforehand. I also learned how to structure myself even better, both in preparation for the study support phase and during the semester. I was able to improve my English language skills. I was able to improve my intercultural skills through contact with the students."
What advice would you like to give a future tutor?
"Always keep in touch, it's really easy and quick these days and file all documents and notes in a well-structured way. And: have fun! :)"