Join the Student Learning Commons Team!

Would you like to get more involved at SFU instead of just going to class and then heading home? Are you eager to help your fellow students? Are you trying to build skills and connections to prepare yourself for your next career move?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are the perfect candidate to choose from two volunteer opportunities at the Student Learning Commons, the Writing and Learning Peer Educator Program, and the English as an Additional Language (EAL) Peer Educator Program. Both programs are currently recruiting for a 2-term commitment starting in Fall 2019.

These peer programs allow you to develop transferable skills in the areas of client service, interpersonal skills, giving effective feedback, and cross-cultural communication, and will give you access to a professional reference as well as a private study/social space in the library (SFU Burnaby and SFU Surrey).

Writing and Learning Peers help their fellow students one-on-one through consultations about their writing and/or other academic strategies. We are looking for strong writers in any discipline, typically with at least a 3.0 GPA. Writing and Learning Peers develop, and hone their own academic skills in the process of reviewing others’ work. They can earn internationally recognized tutoring certification from the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). Past Peers have indicated that the experience was useful in landing co-op positions and paid employment on campus, and in furthering their career and educational goals in diverse fields such as Law, Library and Information Science, Dentistry, Medicine, Counselling Psychology, Advocacy, Academia, K-12 Teaching, Teaching English Overseas, Post-Secondary Student Services, and many others. The position is essentially a volunteer position, but there is a $450 honorarium for the second and subsequent semesters of service. 

For EAL Peers, you must be in Good Academic Standing, and we are looking primarily for students with strong interpersonal skills. EAL Peers build relationships by meeting on a weekly basis all term with individual students who are looking to build their competence and confidence in spoken English. This relationship often makes a crucial personal and academic difference in students’ lives, for example, by building students’ confidence to connect with their classmates and seek help from their TAs.

We are recruiting now for both positions on http://myinvolvement.sfu.ca, where you can find full position descriptions. The deadline for Writing and Learning Peers is April 25 (the day after exams), and July 7 for EAL Peers. If you have any questions, please contact us at learning-commons@sfu.ca.