By Madeline Marks

Even if it has been a long time since you have enrolled in college courses, nothing should stand in your way. Students can get the extra support they need to get them through their classes at Paul D. Camp Community College.

Student Support Services is a federally funded program designed to assist select college students. The goal of SSS is to help students stay in college, graduate and continue their education at a four-year college or university.

SSS is open to all students who are currently enrolled and taking at least six semester hours and have academic need. Also, the student must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Received need-based financial aid to attend Paul D. Camp Community College
• Have a documented physical or learning disability
• Or be the first person in their family to go to college

The program can serve a maximum of 180 students. Currently, we have 170 students in our program, which is offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

The main subject areas where students need help are math, English and some of the upper level sciences.

If you have a child who is thinking about college but may need a little extra “help” in their classes, Paul D. Camp offers free tutoring services. With guidance from instructors, a tutor can make a difference in a student’s academic life.

Having a tutor is a weekly commitment for the semester, but it is worth the extra time at school. Tutors instruct students to balance their school work, jobs and family so they can be successful.

At the end of the semester, the student has gained self-confidence from their tutor as well as a feeling of accomplishment.

Gail Vaughan, director of Student Support Services, leads the SSS staff. She is located on the Franklin campus. Hyler Scott, counselor, is located on the Suffolk campus. Madeline Marks, tutor coordinator, and Walter Biggs, transfer coordinator, split their time between the two campuses. KeBrina Joyner is the administrative assistant for this program.

Tutors are students who have been at the college for at least one semester and have a GPA of 2.8 or greater and an A or B in the subject area they want to tutor. It is also required that they have a reference from the instructor.

We also have people in the community who are tutors. Many of these people are retired from their jobs and bring a wealth of expertise to our students. We also have what we call embedded tutors in some of the classes — such as the math and English classes. These tutors are in the classroom to assist the instructors and students.

Strong bonds form between students and tutors. Their success rates increase, and we get to meet some great students who often visit us later to tell us about their success stories. Some of our tutors are now teachers in the surrounding school systems.

Come on in and join us. Don’t be afraid to step out of the box and learn something new. We are here for you.

Madeline Marks is tutor coordinator for Student Support Services at Paul D. Camp Community College. Email her at mmarks@pdc.edu.