Charles Gomez Albarran

The Red Room, as it has been dubbed, is one of the biggest study locations in the second floor of the Seymour Library located on the Knox Campus. Tuesdays through Thursdays from 7 pm to 9 pm, tutors in different subjects sit in the room and wait to help students who need the benefit in the subjects we are offering. I am one of the Spanish tutors, and it is always so fun to have students come in and ask questions. Not only do I get to relearn things that I may have forgotten, but I get to pass my knowledge onto someone else for their benefit and their benefit only. I think it's a lot of fun to be able to do something like that.

At Knox, a student run radio station named WVKC, one can have their own radio show in order to not only expand their mind but also participate in media and communications. I have learned how to use the soundboard and also allow myself to learn how to make things entertaining and fun for all.

Teacher assistant for a course titled College Success Seminar; In this class, I help the instructor in whatever she needs to teach students better study skills, how to manage their time, make sure their mental health is well among other things that will help them succeed in college and beyond. Some of my duties are to workshop different activities and advocate for places that students can go for resourceful information, like the library, the career center, or health services. The main goal for me is to motivate students to become better students and develop strategies to improve their studies.

The Student Success Program offers academic support and advocacy for first-generation and income-eligible students. I run the social media platforms the program has and made sure its up to date with events, fun activities, and overall information beneficial for students that need it, such as financial aid sessions, how to apply for grad schools, and what to do when stressed.

The Success Program itself is an academic resources & support for first-generation and income-eligible Knox students. My job is to promote events through social media platforms to inform students about helpful events they can attend, such as how to declare a major and minor and inviting them to self-care workshops.

The class (CTL 161) is offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning. This class is titled "College Success Seminar." We help students on academic probation or students who want to improve on becoming better students. Through practice and implementation of skills, students go through the course learning new ways to study, how to use their resources, and why it is important to make sure their mental health is a priority. I help the instructor with lesson plans, classroom set ups, completion of activities, and whatever else she may need that is class related.

Through the Center for Teaching and Learning, I help run the social media pages for the Success Program; this program connects first-gen and income eligible college students to be able to connect to resources that are available to them that may not be something they are aware of.

The SPARK Summer Bridge Program is a two week program that starts before the school year begins to prepare students for the college environment and rigor. As a mentor, my job is to provide appraisal, emotional, informational, and instrumental support for the students involved in the program. Although the bridge section of the program is only two weeks, as a mentor I continuously check in with the students in my assigned group throughout the academic school year and create events curated to benefit them while trying to lead them on a path of success.

The SPARK program (Student Preparation and Readiness for Knox) starts off every summer with its summer bridge portion, where a selected bunch of low income and/or first generation students come to Knox College early to experience the environment that the campus will be like once classes start. It's a two week start where students experience classwork and exploration of the town of Galesburg and what they are in for. My job as a mentor is to help guide them through their first year at Knox with as much support as needed. I'm patient and give them hope. It's what they ask for and I do my best to give them just that.

For starters, this is purely for fun. If it ever becomes a career, I'd love that. For now, I create covers at my school's studio and upload the covers to my channel (Chaswell Tunes) and just allow myself to post content I am happy with at that point in time.