It’s the first day of your first semester at Mt. SAC. Because you registered for classes two weeks before the first day, you enrolled in a speech class instead of the English class you hoped for.

You walk into your class bright and early at 7:30 a.m. and have the first-day introductions. When class ends, you walk into the courtyard of building 26 and see a large ornamental sign for the Speech and Sign Success Center.

A few weeks pass and it comes time for the first speech of the semester. You’re a little nervous but then remember that sign. Wanting to ensure a perfect grade, you head into the SSSC and schedule your first appointment after class.

As the name suggests, the SSSC is a tutoring center designed to provide support for students enrolled in a variety of programs at Mt. SAC.

Julianna Albert, a speech tutor at the center, offered some insight into what resources students have access to when they use the facility.

“Some of the resources that we offer on the sign side have a lot of board games sometimes where they can practice signing and recepting,” Albert said. “We offer tutoring such as recording Directed Learning Activities, DLAs, and then tutors evaluate that and give feedback in ASL (American Sign Language). On the speech side, we also have DLAs on a variety of topics.”

While the DLAs offer hands-on practice for students, the center also has two rooms that people can reserve for practicing speeches or even recording ASL homework.

The SSSC operates on an appointment schedule. Albert explained the types of appointments students can schedule with the SSSC.

“There are 30-minute tutoring appointments and they can work with a sign or speech tutor. They can do a variety of things like DLAs or in ASL it can be practicing signing and recepting. For speech, it could be an outline to look over, how to research Mt. SAC database, how to structure their works cited page, formatting or practicing a speech,” Albert said.

Should students wish to schedule an appointment with the SSSC, they can either schedule one online through the navigate portal, call the SSSC or walk into the center and ask for an appointment.

For students interested in becoming tutors for the SSSC, Albert believes a key trait to have is empathy.

“I think that understanding where everyone is coming from in their academic journey and best supporting them where they’re at and helping them meet their goals and approaching that with a lot of empathy and open-mindedness,” Albert said.

However, speech isn’t the only discipline that students can get help with at the SSSC.

Alexandra Monge has worked as a sign tutor at the center since May 2022 and gave further insight into the resources the center has for ASL students“There are tutors that will sit with you and help you understand the classes,” Monge said.

“There is also ASL tutoring and help. The ASL tutor is for hearing students who are learning the language and helps them level up as they go.”

Monge, who is deaf and hard of hearing, explained why she wanted to become a tutor at the center.

“It’s really important here because at school, learning ASL, the hearing community can go ahead and talk with us, socialize with us, learn how to communicate,” Monge said. “Communication is key here at the college and I would like to just help students and get them motivated and involved in a bigger world outside themselves which would be the deaf community.”

A student who has seen success in her classes due to the tutoring from the center is Jasmine Guo, an international student from China.

“After I chose speech, I’ve come here every week. Sometimes we have homework from DLAs,” Guo said. “It feels nice having a place I can go to and practice what I learned so I can use what I learned from that class and put it into practice.”

Guo said that the tutors at the center have been supportive and helped her understand the coursework much clearer from their sessions.

“I feel like I have a partner with me when I’m practicing because speech for me is difficult. Especially when it’s not in my language and is in another,” Guo said. “They are very experienced and give suggestions you can actually use.”

The SSSC opened in the early 2000s with the mission to be a resource for the students who need the extra support. For those who are interested in more information about the center, you can visit their website.