As Jumbo grads begin to enter into the working world, they may encounter the need for an unforeseen ability: presenting ideas in front of an audience.
Due to a rising demand for education in public speaking, Tufts' Academic Resource Center (ARC) has recently introduced a new program to cater to these needs.
The program, which began last year, has been steadily growing this semester and has recently added public speaking tutors.
Amalia Jiva, assistant director of writing resources at Tufts, said the program started on a limited basis last year when she, along with Drama Department Chair Barbara Grossman and Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser, decided that Tufts should address the need for public speaking training for students.
"We [often] hear from Career Services about employers who find communication skills as the top priority when hiring someone," Jiva said.
Jiva said that students often express in senior surveys that they wish they had gotten more training in public speaking.
The program's coordinators originally hoped to model the program after the ARC's current writing fellows program, but they are still adjusting the program according to students' needs.
"We originally wanted to have a program that would meet the needs of students one on one but also that provided workshops and training for faculty on how to integrate public speaking in their classes," Jiva said. "We want to not just respond to students seeking our help but to find out the kinds of things we need to be prepared for."
This year, graduate student Helen Lewis has taken over as Tufts' public speaking tutor. Lewis, who is currently pursuing her doctorate in drama, believes that public speaking tutoring is especially helpful in college because the need to present in front of an audience is an unfamiliar obstacle for many students.
"I think that students start college, and in some cases they've never done a presentation before; they've never had to get up in front of a room and describe their research or describe their opinion on something," Lewis said. "To ask a student to get up even for 10 minutes and speak coherently about an academic subject - in some cases, that's asking a lot."
Lewis believes knowledge of public speaking can help students in all aspects of their college life.
"I think that a college experience is more fruitful and more valuable when it's more interactive and you yourself can participate as a scholar," she said.
Although the program was originally intended for students, faculty and administrators have also been utilizing its services.
"We get all kinds of questions, and we get all kinds of people at all different levels ... I actually tutored Amalia last week," Lewis said. "It's fun to work with people in [public speaking] because I think that we're tapping into talents that students don't even realize that they have."
But while the ARC is expanding its services and offering free tutoring in most academic subjects, its programs remain untapped by many students.
Sophomore Chelsea Neil, who is majoring in chemical engineering, said that she has never sought help from the ARC tutors because she hasn't felt that it would help her.
"I just haven't really needed them," Neil said. "In my classes, a lot of the students work together, so if I have questions I can just go to other students or my teacher."
Senior Benjamin Brooks, however, supported the ARC.
"I think a lot of people don't know about the ARC's tutoring services, and that [they are] free," he said.
Brooks, who tutors students in math, economics and Chinese, encourages students to take advantage of the programs that ARC offers.
"It really can't hurt you to come if you have a question that wasn't answered by a professor," he said.
"The drop-in hours are a great resource to get the advice of someone who's been in those classes before. In general I think that the people who work for the ARC are well qualified, and they're able to help people."
Lewis also hopes that students will take advantage of the services the ARC offers.
"In professional settings, once [they are] finished with college, people are asked very often to get up in front of a room and present information," she said.
