This tutoring experience was invaluable to me as well, as it offered me experience working with student writing, allowing me to understand firsthand what problems students have in writing and develop ways to relate composition theories practically to students so they could improve their writing. Until this experience, my training in teaching had been mostly theoretical, discussing various pedagogical articles in graduate seminars, with examples offered by facilitating professors, but very little classroom experience. The tutoring experience offered me the opportunity to work with one student at a time, rather than an entire classroom, to practice my teaching methods and obtain immediate feedback from students as to how well I explained concepts to them.

One of the most valuable experiences I acquired from my tutoring experience was an introduction to what would become my graduate thesis research topic. Seeing fifteen to twenty students per week, taught by dozens of different instructors, I often noticed confusion with writing assignments instructors created from students' perspectives: the instructor didn't offer enough explanation of the assignment; the instructor offered too much overwhelming information in the assignment; the instructor made everyone write on an uninteresting (at least, to the student) topic; the instructor didn't explain how to summarize, paraphrase, analyze, argue, etc.; the instructor didn't explain what types of evidence should support an argument. Very interested in finding ways to alleviate such "problems," I developed a thesis project that allowed me to investigate student concerns and develop writing assignments that could be used as development of student writing rather than assessment of student writing, stimulating interest in writing and challenging them to develop critical-thinking skills.

The other most notable responsibility I had as publications assistant was to coordinate the Graduate Student Orientation. Students attended orientation to attain information about the various services offered to graduate students at Iowa State, such as financial assistance, computing services, and health / safety services. I publicized the event, organized introduction seminars for students to attend, and recruited representatives from various campus organizations to set up information booths at the orientation. This was the first major campus event I ever organized, and I greatly enjoyed the experience of facilitating the orientation.

Understanding the workings of the university and having been a residence halls tenant during my entire undergraduate degree, I was able to offer residents educational, social, and career guidance and assistance. Underclassmen would often look to me for advice on what classes they could take to develop particular knowledge and interests; likewise, residents would inquire to me of various majors and career opportunities offered via different degrees. Many instances arose where I was unknowledgeable in certain areas, but I would be certain to re-direct students to people who did have this knowledge or information for them, even if that meant additional research on my part to locate this person or information. I feel this is one of the most important roles of a manager: to be able to locate knowledge and information requested by employees (or residents) if not already known.

My own personal interactions with residents served as an example for courteous and considerate group living, as I made it my responsibility to know a bit about and interact with each of the residents on my floors. This personal relationship with my residents also allowed me to better understand their concerns when conflicts arose and allowed me resolve conflict situations with outcomes favorable to all involved.