Tutor Spotlight: Jenika

What is your Major?

Structural/Seismic Engineering (MS)

Civil Engineering (BS)

Do you have any hobbies or personal interests outside of school?

I enjoy baking, especially fancy cakes, pies, and cookies! I am always up for cooking a random recipe or going out to try new foods.  I also enjoy hiking with my dog, going to the movies, binge watching shows and building LEGO sets.

What do you enjoy most about tutoring?

Passing what I have learned down to the next generations.  

Why did you want to become a tutor?

I wanted to help students succeed.  Learning became especially hard when the pandemic shut down in-person classes, so I wanted to do my part and help students get through this difficult time. 

Do you have a favorite assignment or topic to tutor?

Calculus 1

Did you have a favorite cartoon growing up?Favorite hobby growing up?

Spongebob Squarepants!  My favorite hobby growing up was playing sports.

And finally, the most important question, is cereal a soup or a broth, or something else entirely? 

Cereal is definitely NOT a broth. I can see why some might consider it a “soup,” but I do not agree.  Cereal is its own wonderful creation!  

What is the one thing you learned/gained as a tutor that you will carry with you into your future? 

Communication skills.  It can be really difficult to clearly express your ideas/teachings, but tutoring has helped me build my communication skills.  This goes both ways, when someone is trying to teach me something, I have a better idea of what I need to ask in order to fully understand.  This will be really useful in my future career.

What advice would you give to new tutors? 

It is OK not to know everything, you are there to help the student but you are not the professor.  The best thing to know is how to use your resources and the resources the student might have (ie class notes, textbook, previous hw, ect).

What will you miss about SF State?

I will miss the campus, students, and faculty because my final year and a half was all remote.  I never fully appreciated the in-person college experience until it was gone! One of my favorite parts about school was studying in the library with friends.  

Plans after you graduate?

I have a full time job at my dream structural engineering firm, Forell|Elsesser.  I was a summer intern in 2021, and they offered me a full time position starting March 2022!  Before then, I hope to take a vacation somewhere, maybe Tahoe, or a national park!