Cabrini University students take courses during their first semesters that help them acclimate to college life and introduce them to their chosen majors. These Engagements with the Common Good (ECG) courses often employ a Classroom Coach—a student who has previously excelled in the course and, after completing a subsequent tutor training seminar, serves as a mentor in future classes. Classroom Coaches provide a unique mentoring experience to other students in the class, in and outside of the classroom, as they often offer additional support such as study sessions and one-on-one meetings.
Here, Classroom Coach Mackenzie Harris (’16) and student Angelina Miller (’19) provide their perspectives on classroom coaching.
Mackenzie Harris (’16)
When I was in first grade, I met a girl named Liz. Her first language was Spanish and, when she began at the elementary school, she only knew English words like “hello” and “thank you.” The language barrier didn’t separate us, but instead brought us together. We spent most of our recesses and free time with books in our hands—I would read to her in English, and she would follow in Spanish. In those moments I wanted to help her feel welcomed, not alone, and, most of all, like her voice was heard.
This feeling became a salient model for me, especially when I entered the doors of Founder’s Hall 279 for the first time. Professor Zurek’s [Jerome “Jerry” Zurek, PhD] Engagements with the Common Good (ECG) course, Our Interdependent World, became a staple of my inspiration. The class taught me to open my eyes, arms, and heart to our brothers and sisters around the world, no matter our differences. It was here where I connected my internal passion for helping others to my major.
On the last day of class, I walked out and told Professor Zurek that I was highly interested in being his Classroom Coach. Two years later, my junior year, I was invited to serve as coach, and was asked again my senior year.
I never really considered being a Classroom Coach a job, but rather an opportunity to learn and give. Tuesdays and Thursdays became my favorite days because I was able to listen and learn from the students and the class, even though I had taken the class before.
Seeing the progression, the growth, of each of the students was the most rewarding aspect of my four years at Cabrini. Having sat in those very same seats just two years before, with no idea what was to come, I knew that they were in for some really exciting, but difficult, times, and I wanted to be there for each of them in the best capacity I could. I wanted them to feel welcomed, not alone, and, most of all, that their voices were heard—the same way I felt with Liz.
The students joked, saying that I “made social justice cool,” but all I tried to do was foster their education by treating them as equals and, because I could see the possibilities in all of them, pushing them to their fullest potential. If I inspired them to do their best, then maybe they would work to their potentials—and it worked. Two years in a row, I was shocked with the proficiency, leadership, and dedication to the classes’ Cabrini Day projects. For the students’ simulations regarding refugees seeking safety and climate change, they were rewarded with first place and donated a total of $200 to Catholic Relief Services. The students went on to receive grants to create websites for professors around the nation on how to implement the simulations. They traveled to high schools, other universities, and conferences to teach other students how to re-create the simulations.
Being able to meet 20 different students each year was so rewarding. I met incredibly intelligent and giving students, like Angelina Miller (’19). Angelina was a leader of her class and continues to inspire me today. She galvanized her class to pursue action on climate change and led her team to win a donation to Catholic Relief Services through advocacy during Cabrini Day. In our ECG class, I had the opportunity to help her understand her power, and she was able to lift that up and help others understand their own voice. Angelina is a selfless person, always seeking to help wherever she is needed, and through my experience as her Classroom Coach, we have become great friends. She reminds me of Liz in her willingness to be bold and her determination to not succumb to societal norms when faced with adversity—just some of the reasons she inspires me. Thanks to my time as a Classroom Coach in her class, I was able to see her development and growth.
Through my experience as a Classroom Coach, I engaged each student and gave them my support, time, and effort. Whether we were discussing classes they should take for their second semesters, what classes they should take in the future, how to write a paper, or their personal lives, spending that time with them made me a better, happier person.
Over two years and two very different classes, the experiences will forever hold a special spot in my heart. Those students taught me more than I could ever teach them.
Angelina Miller (’19)
On my first official day as a student at Cabrini, I was filled with excitement, nervousness, and the rest of the endless emotions that most students feel when being a new fish in an unfamiliar pond.
Luckily for me, I was blessed with a person who had the ability to diminish any academic anxiety that I had throughout my very first week—and for the entirety of my first year at Cabrini. Not only did this person have an extremely welcoming personality and positive energy about her from the start, but she also knew all of the ins and outs of Cabrini. This intelligent, bright, charismatic person that came into my life during my first semester at Cabrini—and has now left a lasting impact on my life—was my ECG 100 Classroom Coach, Mackenzie Harris (’16).
From day one to the last day of the course, Mackenzie never failed to be a personable voice of academic wisdom that a group of first-year students—myself and my classmates—truly needed. Coming from being the “top dogs” as seniors in high school, freshmen in college may think they know it all. However, you quickly realize that it is important to hear out all of the upperclassmen who have traveled down the paths that the newbies, such as myself, were about to take on. “Mackenzie always felt like an essential part of the class,” said Eric Stone (’19), one of my fellow ECG 100 classmates.
About halfway through the course, when were planning for our Cabrini Day project in full force, Mackenzie truly stood out to me and had a particularly memorable impact. From brainstorming, to writing a list of supplies, to prompting frequent meetings outside of class, she exceeded the expectations of a Classroom Coach. Thinking back, I do not think our Cabrini Day climate change simulation, Tame the Change, would have been as successful as it was without the extra push Mackenzie gave the class. We won the best project for Cabrini Day 2015, which came along with a check toward our charity of choice—Catholic Relief Services—and a big smile on the face of Professor Zurek.
Mackenzie was always the relatable voice that influenced my mind and the minds of my classmates. She taught us to not be just thinkers, but to speak up and to be doers. Toward the end of our simulation planning, she repeatedly told us that somebody had to take charge with the project and pull it through the home stretch. With my ears wide open, I stepped up and took control of one of our last Tame the Change meetings. She helped our whole class see that going the extra mile with everything you do will pay off. It was clear that listening to Mackenzie and taking advantage of the help offered would only positively guide us in the right direction.
A Classroom Coach is primarily placed in a class to connect with students, boost their interests in that class, and be a knowledgeable figure of guidance. The thing that surprised me most about my personal experience with a Classroom Coach is that Mackenzie did so much more than that, and became so much more to me. As a sophomore at Cabrini University, I have set some ridiculously high standards for my next three years. This includes being editor in chief of the Loquitur, making my way into Cathy Yungmann's Honors Convergence course as a senior, and scoring an internship related to social media, journalism, or photography. However, none of these goals would have been sparked in my mind so early if it was not for the successful upperclassmen, such as Mackenzie, that I have seen stand before me. I now know it is completely acceptable to have high standards, and big goals and dreams, and I can proudly say that my Classroom Coach showed me that they are achievable. Throughout my first semester at Cabrini, my ECG 100 Classroom Coach, Mackenzie Harris, showed me what it means and how it is possible to live with purpose.