International Tutoring VAMK has approximately 90 exchange students arriving each year and our international tutors play an essential role in the integration progress of the new exchange students. An international tutor is the first friend of an exchange student in the new study environment and is an important link to the student life in our University of applied sciences and the student culture. International tutoring is a great way to meet new friends from different countries, improve your language skills and not only teach about the Finnish culture, but also learn about other cultures world-wide. Here you can read a personal experience of international tutoring at VAMK from an American international business student named Marcus Segervall. COMING to a new country from abroad and deciding to live there for the next few months can be a daunting task and takes some courage. From personal experience I can say that this is true and the importance of having someone there to help you can not be understated. When I came to Finland from the United States having my peer tutors to guide me in the early stages of my life in Finland was invaluable. Having experienced first hand what it’s like to come here from a foreign country, I felt that I was well suited to be a tutor to help exchange students that come into similar positions. With all this in mind I decided to apply and I don’t regret doing it in the slightest. DUE TO THE COVID-19 pandemic, things were a bit different this year with international tutoring. Due to the low amount of applicants this year for exchange, each tutor was given around one exchange student to help out (as opposed to 3 or 4 like in previous years). In my opinion this was actually beneficial, and it led to the Tutors forming a stronger bond with their exchange student since that was the only student they had to worry about. I was especially happy to hear that my Student this year was going to be from Spain since Spanish is my 1st language. Due to this we were able to speak more comfortably and it made her feel more at home and felt comfortable during her first days here which is always a bonus and 48 Nivaska I 2021 something we as Tutors strive to achieve. I enjoyed helping my student with the basics like collecting the key for her apartment and showing her where the supermarkets were but I also made sure to inform her about the important things like the current Covid restrictions which she was curious about at the time. AS THE YEAR progressed the Covid restrictions became stricter and going out became more of a luxury but we still remained in contact virtually and still made the best of a bad situation. The student union has done the best they can and have organized plenty of virtual events which we like attending but we hope that as the year progresses, the restrictions will become less strict and we can attend more in person events. OVERALL, I can safely say that I’ve made a great friend through being an international tutor and am even considering going to Spain during my exchange year to see her and many other Spanish students I have met from tutoring. Being an international Tutor has been an incredible experience in which I have been able to meet and make so many new friends from different parts in the world. Being an international tutor is something every student should try and it’s something I’ll definitely be applying for again next year. MARCUS SEGERVALL Tutor
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