THINK TANK Student Employee Spotlight Series: Kamille Sullivan

Kamille is a THINK TANK student worker unicorn: a dedicated student employee who held two roles during her time at THINK TANK. She was a first generation graduate, having earned her bachelor’s degree in linguistics studies and a minor in creative writing. She held the positions of Writing Tutor and Peer Academic Coach (PAC), both of which contributed immensely to her academic success and professional growth. In speaking with Kamille, it is obvious that her work with students and her time at THINK TANK left a lasting impression and provided experiences she draws from every day in her job working at a nearby apartment complex.

Being a Tutor Left a Impression on Her Heart

Tutoring for THINK TANK was a major part of Kamille’s academic career. Despite her demanding class schedule, tutoring was a breath of fresh air during her long days.

“I really, really enjoyed both of those roles because tutoring was very fulfilling for me,” Kamille shared. “Even when I was tired from class, I would come in for a session and get excited to see students who were on my roster when I was a PAC or those I had worked with before in the Writing Center.”

To top it off, Kamille found joy and delight in connecting her role as a tutor to passion for creative writing:  “It was cool to see that I got to flex a little bit of my writing chops and help people through something that I’m really passionate about regarding literature.”

No Fear of Public Speaking

Through the various responsibilities of her roles, from working with a team and professional staff to facilitating workshops, Kamille was able to hone her public speaking skills and build her confidence: “Public speaking is a big one and also specifically doing presentations because I've never been a weak speaker. If anything, I would say I'm a bit of a yapper, and I really liked being able to do the workshops.”

Kamille’s experience at THINK TANK gave her the opportunity to ask questions in a safe space and exercise that muscle: “That is something that I carry to my job now, because I ask questions, every day all the time.”

Impact on Students

Sometimes, Kamille found tutoring to be somewhat of a “thankless” job. It is through Kamille’s reflection on her interactions with students that she revealed how impactful this work truly is.

“It's the times that I had received emails back from students that I had reached out to that really allowed me to understand that, you know, the 30 to 45 minutes that I met with somebody truly actually can really have a very profound impact on the rest of their week or month or so on and so forth,” she explained.

Time Management and Discipline

Having coursework, tutoring and other commitments taught Kamille the importance of time management but moreso, discipline: “I'm still disciplined now. I was very disciplined as a student. I had to really plan my days down to 30 minute intervals.”

Shoutout to THINK TANK’s bank of resources — Kamille used these to keep herself on track with big assignments and commitments. One of her favorites was the Semester On a Page (SOAP), a one-page calendar used for planning out the semester in its entirety. She credits this and other resources for keeping her organized and succeeding as a student and employee.

Extending Empathy and Kindness

Another area that Kamille has carried into her current role as a Leasing Specialist is creating a positive, empathetic and collaborative environment. Although Kamille’s workplace is more segmented than she experienced at THINK TANK, she is implementing techniques she learned at the Writing Center and as a PAC to bring her team together.

“I find myself mimicking or trying to mimic the environment that I had when I was in team meetings with my PAC team, where everybody's ideas can be shared and we can come to some kind of conclusion sort of as a group,” she said. 

Additionally, she places a lot of emphasis on empathy and kindness in the workplace, which is something she found to be one of the best parts of THINK TANK: “When I'm like in my Slack channels at work now, I'm like doing my little hearts and smiley faces, and I'm saying, ‘You rock. You're doing amazing. You're doing a great job.’ That's the sort of feedback that I got when I was a student worker."

 Want to learn more about THINK TANK’s various programs, such as the Writing Center or Academic Coaching? Visit thinktank.arizona.edu