Morghan Sonderer

By Jennifer Hansen, Eric Fergason, Hilary Cummins

Coming to The University of Arizona was a logical choice for self-proclaimed "country girl," Morghan Sonderer. Having learned responsibility at a young age while working on her family's ranch, Morghan knew that she would need to take a number of variables into consideration when deciding which University to attend. The academic support offered at the SALT Center, the variety of engagement opportunities at the UA, and being from Southern Arizona all factored into her decision to become a Wildcat.

When asked what stands out about her time at the UA/SALT Center, Morghan says that, "the friendliness, feeling welcome, and feeling like part of the SALT family," have been key to her experience. She added that the SALT Center has given her the opportunity to get to know more people on the UA campus, particularly through the relationships she has built with her tutors: "The tutors are so nice to work with. They care about the student's understanding."

Since the beginning of her academic career at the UA, Morghan has managed to find the time to be involved at the University and throughout the greater community around Tucson.  She is a member of the Pre-Vet Club and the UA Equestrian Team. She works with Enactus, assists with animal and horse rescue groups, volunteers with veterinary clinics, and participates in other events, such as the Tucson Rodeo and El Tour de Tucson. In addition to these organizations, Morghan has volunteered at the Reid Park Zoo and the Pima County Fairgrounds for special events, all while majoring in Animal Science at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, with a specialization in Equine Science, and pursuing a minor in Business Administration.

When asked about her academic accomplishments, Morghan says that she is proud of making the Dean's List, maintaining her high GPA, and being invited to join honor clubs and organizations, like the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.  She mentioned that the SALT Center has helped her achieve the GPA requirements to be admitted to these organizations: "Use of [SALT Center services] helped me with grades and receiving scholarships."

Morghan owns that attaining this level of success has not always been easy: "To some extent, school is challenging." However, after growing up on a ranch, Morghan is used to challenges.  She sees them as an opportunity to dig in and face the hard work head-on.  She stresses that the SALT Center has helped her overcome some of these challenges: "The tutors help with planning ahead and staying on top of things so that I don't procrastinate." 

It is Morghan's passion for her goals, her friends, and her family that earned her the Michelle Combs Award. The award is given in honor of former UA student and SALT Center participant, Michelle Combs, who, Morghan learned, was, "friendly, outgoing, kind, and willing to help others."  The Michelle Combs Award was established last fall and recognizes students who exhibit Michelle's adventurous, energetic, and goal-oriented characteristics. It was given to two students during the 2014 Family Weekend Celebration & Awards Ceremony.  Morghan admitted that being one of the first recipients of this award caught her a bit off-guard, but that she is incredibly humbled by it: "It is an honor. I was honored knowing what the award was…who it represented."

One cannot help but admire Morghan's positive attitude, academic success, and drive to help others.  We are so proud of Morghan, and we know that her ability to turn a challenge into an opportunity will help her achieve all her goals. We can't wait to see what else she will accomplish.

Jessica Marriott

Class of 1995

UA degree: B.A. Philosophy
Current Residence: Scottsdale, AZ
Previous Experience: Retail and Pharmaceutical Sales
Employer: Tantrum Bags
Position: CEO/Owner

Q: How has the SALT Center played a role in your success as a professional?

A: The SALT Center services contributed to who I am today because I was able to feel safe and comfortable with myself and consequently, succeed in my classes and ultimately in life. The tutoring services pushed me to learn material in new ways, such as taking notes on my computer, which is something I do to this day. This is an example of how SALT promotes self-advocacy and encourages students to be problem solvers.

Q: What message do you want to share with incoming SALT students?

A: College and life can be challenging at times, but during those challenges focus on the positive. Trust your positive instinct and imagine everyone is cheering you on. At Tantrum Bags, one business slogan is “fearless focus”, which means allowing yourself to reach out for what you want to accomplish, focusing on the end result, and believing your dreams can truly come true.

Dave Rowney

Class of 1993

Q: As a 1993 graduate, explain what it was like to be a SALT student before the program had its own facility as it does today.

The SALT Program affected me as both as a SALT Tutor and a SALT Student (1991-1993). At the time, I was an older student than most who are in your program now.  When I first started I was age 29 and I had just gotten out of the Air Force. I had a previous degree in Political Science but my grades were not good enough for Graduate School. I had a dream to try to become a Mechanical Engineer. I was taking classes full and part time at the UA.

In 1991, I had returned from a cooperative education program working as a student engineer with the US Navy in California. I needed work and I started first as a SALT Tutor. I was hired to tutor students in Astronomy and Geology because of my science/math background. Through the professional learning disability training I received as a tutor and working with SALT Students, I found out many things about myself.

At the time, I found that I had many of the same symptoms my students had and I was struggling in my Mechanical Engineering classes. These items I thought were "normal" but later I discovered I had a form of dyslexia that affected my hearing and thought processes making me a slow person. Although too late for my first degree, the knowledge of having my learning disability helped me complete my second degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Q: What was it like to work alongside, or sometimes with, Eleanor Harner (SALT Founder)?

Eleanor Harner was head of the program. She was a kindly but firm woman trying to get a new and innovative program going. Not everyone thought Eleanor was correct in her approach and there was often push back by the academia.

When I was first hired as a SALT Student Tutor  in 1991 we worked out of an old 1920s style, two story house off of East 6th just south of Old Main. I believe the building was where the facilities management custodial building now stands. It was where we tutored most of our students. As an engineering student, I assisted in putting in the first handicap ramp at the back door of the house. Later we moved to the basement of Old Main where we took up half the basement for counselors and all the tables outside of the building for tutoring. It was here that I met Beverly Sandock, one of the SALT counselors.

Q: How has the SALT Center played a role in your success as a professional?

The meeting with Beverly Sandock changed my life. I was referred to Dr. Wolf and she diagnosed me with dyslexia. With this information in hand, I became a student in the SALT program. With its advocacy, I was able to take my engineering exams and later my Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) professional exam with extra time. I completed my courses and received my BS in Mechanical Engineering in December 1993. Later, because of my SALT tutoring, I became a substitute teacher in science and math in Pima County then later moved into my career as a mechanical engineer with the US Navy. I have 18 years government service now and travel the world fixing navy ships. 

Q: What message of advice would you share with incoming SALT students?

I would say never give up, keep trying and find a way. I believe in Cesar Chavez's words "¡Si, Se Puede! ("Yes, you can"). I say this to Ventura County foster children that my wife and I raise now. They struggle to fight with their emotions and with their issues of abuse and family neglect. They have many issues as insurmountable as SALT Students but only caused by a failed society and broken families. I am passing on what was given to me as a positive role model.

David Wagner

Class of 2003

By Eric Fergason

The SALT Center employs roughly 90 tutors each academic year.  Their expertise spans a variety of subject areas, and they undergo a rigorous training regiment to ensure that they have the proper skills to empower students who learn differently. To better understand how tutoring at the SALT Center can impact future employment, we interviewed David Wagner, a UA attorney and former tutor at the SALT Center.

David was a sophomore when he realized that he needed a job, but he wanted to do something more meaningful than fry food or work as a cashier.  After reflecting on his options, he decided to apply for a tutoring position at the SALT Center, “I always enjoyed teaching and tutoring.”

David started at the SALT Center while it was still located in the basement of Old Main, “Tutoring was done on a bunch of benches bolted to the walls.  When they got the new building, it really amped things up.” The SALT Center moved from the cramped, dingy basement to the beautiful facility that it inhabits today (the Patricia A. Bartlett building), complete with plenty of open space for tutoring and an abundance of natural light.

In order to be an effective tutor, David had to learn how to explain difficult concepts in new ways.  He recalled one particularly effective lesson on air pressure, “I ended up bringing in a bunch of tennis balls…and was bouncing them around the cubicle to demonstrate how air pressure and air molecules work. You have to be creative when trying to explain a concept to someone; you have to try different angles to make it click.” His ingenuity paid off – throughout his time at the SALT Center, David helped hundreds of students with learning challenges achieve their academic goals.

When asked about the value that tutoring offered him, David replied that becoming a good tutor had a positive impact on his own education: “Knowing your audience [is critical]. Each person is unique in terms of how they learn…when you teach to different audiences, you learn the subject better yourself.”

David saw this lesson play out in one of his law classes - “The professor had taught the same class for 15 years. He made the same jokes on the same days - it was down to precision.  I think that’s great, but I think its better when you have to present the same material in a different way. I think it rounds you out a little more.”

David said that he was surprised to enjoy the job as much as he did, “I didn’t really know, going into it, how in-depth it would be, and how much I would get out of it. I just figured I’d much rather teach something than make food. But then it turned into something I really enjoyed.” David’s enthusiasm for tutoring inspired him to recruit a few friends to tutor at the SALT Center, including his future wife.

Another surprise for David was just how effective the SALT Center was at providing academic support for students who learn differently, “I don’t think I realized how much of a recruiting tool it is [for the University]. There are people who come from all over the country just for the SALT Center.” 

David went on to earn his law degree at The University of Texas, and then took a job in Indianapolis. After spending some time at a big law firm, he decided to explore other options, and is now an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel at the University of Arizona, where he assists the University in employment law matters. 

We are so grateful for David’s contribution to our students and our history.  It’s tutors like him who make the SALT Center an incredible place to learn and to work.

Interested in learning more about SALT Center Tutoring Services? Visit http://salt.arizona.edu/services/tutoring.

Visit David Wagner's UA profile at http://ogc.arizona.edu/person/david-s-wagner.

Sam & Alex Stanley

Class of 2014

By Eric Fergason

The SALT Center employs a team of tutors ranging from undergraduates to retirees. Each tutor represents a diverse community of individuals dedicated to student success. Last week, we posted an article on Regular Tutor, Tomi Obafemi (class of 2014), in which we discussed his experience as a tutor at the SALT Center and the impact it has had on his college career (visit our SALT Center Stories page to read more). This week, we are highlighting Advanced Tutors and sisters, Alex and Sam Stanley. Alex is currently a senior at the UA, majoring in English and Music, and her sister, Sam, is a senior majoring in Communication.

While looking for a job during her sophomore year at the UA, Alex assessed what she had to offer – she realized that her academic record and experience as a tutor in High School would be very marketable. She learned about the SALT Center’s tutoring services through a friend who utilized the program, and thought it would be a great fit.

Based on her friend’s testimonial, the characteristics that made the SALT Center unique compared to other programs on campus were its small student population and personal interactions. “I figured I’d give it a shot!” said Alex. “I think it offers a much friendlier atmosphere, because you can get swallowed up in this giant university, and [the SALT Center] is a place to feel safe and to learn.”

Alex told her twin sister, Sam, about her new job, and Sam started tutoring at the SALT Center the following semester. “I like that the SALT Center is right here [on campus]. It’s different than [other academic support centers] because you get to develop relationships since you see the same people all the time.”

SALT Center tutors undergo a rigorous training regiment to obtain and maintain their tutor certification.  After earning their Regular Tutor certification, Alex and Sam wanted to become Advanced Tutors. In order to move up to this level, they each had to complete 100 hours of tutoring, and create a project that was reviewed by those who have obtained the highest level of certification: the Master Tutors.

While they also participated in campus-wide trainings that included tutors from the THINK TANK and other academic support programs, their training at the SALT Center focused on strategies for students who learn differently. As Alex explained, “We do specialized training [at the SALT Center] because there are some things we deal with that [other support centers] don’t, and vice versa.” Sam added, “You learn a lot about different learning challenges and different strategies. Once you get to the Advanced or Master level, you’re [a much more effective] tutor.”

Advancing though the different levels of tutor certification impacted both Sam and Alex’s personal academic experiences. Sam’s training, coupled with her time in the Writer’s Lab, bolstered her confidence in her own writing ability, “I think it makes me academically stronger because I brush up on what I know every day…I have become a much better writer because of all of that practice.”

Alex’s time in tutoring sessions helped reinforce her skills and broaden her perspective, “The strategies that we teach the students are the same strategies that I use when I write papers, so its really helpful to go over those every day…It definitely reinforces your knowledge, because you can look at [a concept] from 15 different angles”

Sam and Alex share the sentiment that the highlight of their job is the relationships they build with students as they grow. A student may enter a tutoring session with very little understanding of the material, but leave with a feeling of confidence. Sam states that she enjoys her relationships with first-year students most of all: “It’s really cool to see them from day to day, hear how they are doing, and watch them pick their major.”

Sam will continue her education at the UA this fall as a graduate student in the Communication department, and will be advancing to the level of Master Tutor at the end of this semester, “It’s kind of funny, because I’m probably going to be a TA for a lot of the students I tutor.” Alex, a Fulbright Finalist, will be moving to Chile as part of the United Nation’s Open Doors program, where she’ll teach at a K-12 school.  

We are very grateful for Sam and Alex’s contribution to our program, and the value they have provided to our students.  We wish them both the best of luck in all of their future endeavors.  

Interested in learning more about SALT Center Tutoring Services? Visit http://salt.arizona.edu/services/tutoring.

Devin Slack

By Eric Fergason

When Devin Slack was looking at colleges, he knew he needed a school that would give him additional support for his learning challenge. He applied to the University of Arizona because the SALT Center would do just that: “My family and I searched high and low for institutions that provided good academic support, and, after touring two other campuses, I knew that the University of Arizona was 100% the place I wanted to go.”

Reflecting on the transition from high school to college, Devin describes the college experience as one continuous transition: “Having to go above and beyond on assignments, transitioning from general education classes to classes within my major…it all served as a wake up call.” One skill Devin knew he would need to learn quickly in order to manage this transition was time management.  Working with his strategic learning specialist, Devin was able learn strategies to help him manage his course load, using tools like the “Semester at a Glance,” a one-page document outlining all every due date for each class that students can reference throughout the semester.

With his new-found time-management skills, Devin was encouraged and emboldened to get involved with extra-curricular clubs and activities.  His strategic learning specialist recommended that he become a SALT Center Student Ambassador, which would give hime the opportunity to share his experiences with prospective students and families: “Working as a Student Ambassador at the SALT Center has really grown my confidence. It’s great being in a position where people are interested in my opinion.”  Devin is even considering becoming a SALT Center tutor because of that confidence - he believes he can help other student who learn differently navigate the transition to college, just as the SALT Center helped him. 

When he’s not giving tours at the SALT Center, Devin is usually studying.  Majoring in Electrical Engineering, with a Math minor, he has plenty of schoolwork to keep him busy: “I like all of the material - it’s fascinating.  It’s also nice to know there is a job waiting for me; that provides a little security.” While his fields of study might require that he be at the UA for an extra year, it doesn’t bother Devin in the least - “I love it here, so I don't mind taking another year. There is no point in rushing if your having a good time.”

Even though he’s just entering his junior year, Devin is already looking ahead. While the idea of working in a robotics lab after graduation is enticing, he’s also considering continuing his education: “Just recently, I got a letter from a professor asking me if I wanted to turn my Math minor into a major, and he was talking about me going to grad school. I hadn't really thought about it, but I kind of like the sound of ‘Dr. Slack’ - it has a good ring to it.” 

Devin has made quite an impact in his short time at the SALT Center and the UA, and we are so grateful for his willingness to give back to our program as a Student Ambassador.  This intelligent, dedicated, and gracious young man has an incredibly bright future ahead of him, and we can’t wait to see what he does next.

David Peak

By Eric Fergason

In the breezeway of the Patricia A. Bartlett building, David Peak approaches, wearing his customary scarf and sunglasses. You’ll see him in the same spot on Friday mornings, greeting people before “Taste of SALT” presentations, during which David answers questions for prospective students and their families as an ambassador for the SALT Center. We met to reflect on his time at the University of Arizona and his experience with our program.  

When asked what led him to choose the UA during his college search, David recalled several factors: size, support, and ‘The Feeling.’ Because he was raised in a small town, he was already accustomed to Tucson’s small community. He pondered attending another state university, but he believed that their academic support services wouldn’t quite meet his needs. Besides, his brother studied there, and David wanted a different experience: “I kind of wanted to go somewhere that would be my own college.”  

Additionally, his mother, a special education aid, was familiar with the services available at the UA, including the SALT Center, and encouraged David to consider it. He was very impressed: “I did not envision that The SALT Center would have the facilities and setup that it has.”  

One of the biggest factors that led David to choose the UA is what he describes as ‘The Feeling’ -­‐ “It’s the feeling I get when I really want something.” After attending a “Taste of SALT” and the UA presentation in Old Main, David said ‘The Feeling’ struck him: “I looked out the window across the mall…[and the UA] just felt like [the right fit for] me.” 

David is very pleased with his choice; he is studying Creative Writing, and has enjoyed his undergraduate career at the UA. He credits the support he has received at the SALT Center, particularly the tutoring services, with his current success: “I had a stereotypical [and limited] tutoring experience in High School; I didn’t expect so much peer tutoring in so many subjects.” 

With his more demanding classes behind him, David decided to look for a job during his senior year in order to gain experience and a little extra cash: “I was looking into becoming one of the UA ambassadors who walk backwards.” His research for this position reminded him that the SALT Center employed ambassadors, as well. Upon further consideration, David decided to apply, and got the job.   

As an ambassador, David engages with prospective students and families on a weekly basis. He is proud to share his SALT Center experience with future students, and also considers it a great networking opportunity: “I was the consumer, and now, in a way, I’m selling the product.”  

With graduation fast approaching, we are glad to have David greeting families and sharing his experience at our “Taste of SALT” presentations for a few more months. We congratulate him on earning his degree, and we wish him success in all of his future endeavors.