In 2012, I was wrapping up my fourth year teaching freshman general education courses when a student approached me – after grades were submitted – to request the opportunity to do more work and improve her grade. She was a B student with a great attitude, so I was confused as to why she made the request.
“I’m on academic probation and to get off I need a slightly higher GPA this semester. I hoped I could do some more work in your class to raise my grade to an A.”
Being the teacher I am, I asked why she waited until May. She thought she could pull off the GPA and didn’t think she would need the help. She didn’t think to come to me in January to talk about this. She didn’t know we could have created a plan together for her to earn the A. Because she didn’t know, there she was in mid-May asking me to help dig her out of a hole she was in before I met her. Although the request for extra work wasn’t granted, I pointed out that she had to power to proactively create her grade instead of reacting to it. That’s not what she wanted to hear or the outcome she expected. It was, however, what I needed her to take away from the conversation.
This was not the first time a student in academic trouble approached me after the semester was over. This was not the first student who gained admission based on a stellar high school record and ended up on probation after their first semester. This was, however, the first time I was moved to my core. It was at the conclusion of that conversation I said to myself “They’re not ready” and Tassel to Tassel was born. I had to do something to help students know how to take charge of their education, particularly freshman year. What started as workshops at the public library became the book and college navigation program we have today.
Why am I telling you all this, you ask? It’s because I want you to know that admission to college is just the beginning and being ready for what is expected of you in college doesn’t happen automatically. This business was born out of the desire to help students avoid the common pitfalls I saw year after year. Tassel to Tassel was created to guide first-year students through the first year and teach them how to create the college experience they want . . . and deserve. Knowing which offices to visit and how to use the resources to your advantage isn’t something students are taught before they arrive on campus. Some students graduate from college with no knowledge of the endless resources that exist solely for the promotion of their academic, professional, and personal success. This has to change.
I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I know college success. The tips and tricks I picked up from teaching high school and college are what I share with students. You know what you know. You may even know what you don’t know. However, T2T is here to help you with what you don’t know you don’t know. Your time, money, and college degree can depend on it.