Tutor Spotlight: Holly Hessner

My name is Holly Hessner and I began tutoring for Potencia, Inc. a couple of months ago. I am a junior at Boston University, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Psychology. In college, I am on the board of multiple on-campus organizations such as Moot Court Organization, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) and, now, Potencia. Next semester, I will be joining the Boston University Potencia Chapter as the Outreach Coordinator. 

While I have no teaching background nor do I have any intention to become an educator, I do like trying new things and helping others. When I received an email from my school’s Political Science Department promoting Potencia, I decided to apply because tutoring was outside of my comfort zone and I really respected the work Potencia was doing. 

In addition to supporting a non-English speaker in their ability to communicate, I see English tutoring as a foundational aspect to our Democracy. English tutoring opens the door for all citizens to use their given right to vote. I think it should be our country’s responsibility to make ballot reading accessible through diverse and thorough translation. Until that is seen as a necessity, missions like Potencia’s are key to bettering the nation as a whole. 

Although I cannot speak for my learner’s personal experience, there were, however, noticeable improvements in her English after only a few sessions. My learner and I would always start off by talking about what we did earlier that week. By the third week or so, my learner became much easier to understand; this allowed us to get to know each other on a personal level. When our conversations became more about the content and less about grammar, she seemed to gain better confidence. 

There is no shortage of people who want to learn English, but there is a shortage of people that will take the time to help them. Through Potencia, I realized that giving only a couple of hours out of my week would provide someone with long-lasting support. 

There is a lot of anxiety involved in language learning, at least for me. In my German I course this year, I found myself avoiding class participation out of pure fear. I once read that many people speak a second language better while drunk, which goes to show how much anxiety hinders language learning. My biggest challenge was not knowing language jargon (e.g. which tenses are which, categorizing verbs, etc.). With only two hours per week and my learner trying to find a job at the same time, it made more sense to take action and not become overly technical. At the end of the day, I think most learners, including mine, just want to be able to express themselves and one on one speaking is the fastest way to achieve that. 

Within my time tutoring with Potencia, I was able to hear about the challenges that come with being an immigrant and non-English speaker in the United States. As someone who studies Political Science, I wanted to better understand the obstacles my learner faced. As I said earlier, I think it is our country’s responsibility to make sure all citizens have access to government services– especially, considering that a large portion of non-English speakers in the U.S. are immigrants and may come from lower-income backgrounds.

As I mentioned previously, I will be serving as Outreach Coordinator next semester. I look forward to leveraging political and on-campus connections to build Potencia’s network. I aim to decrease the disparity between those who want to learn English and who are willing to teach. 

This summer, I am keeping up my German and learning Spanish with Duolingo. I will be working at a restaurant in my hometown while interning with a government office. After graduation, I plan on attending law school, working in a government office, running for office, and serving as an elected official in my home state. I hope to one day have the ability to reference my time at Potencia and improve the lives of non-English speakers in my community.