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Math Success Center Helping Students Stay the Course

SLCC student Spencer Zimmerman sharpens his skills at the Math Success Center.

When math gets in the way of your goals you force yourself to understand it, but then something cool happens – you start to actually like math. At least that’s what has been happening with Spencer Zimmerman, who hopes someday to be an architect.

Until recently finding refuge at Salt Lake Community College’s Math Success Center, mathematics had been an academic nemesis for Zimmerman, 26, who since high school has struggled with numbers and equations. “They claimed I wasn’t trying hard enough,” he recalls. “They didn’t realize I needed extra help.”

For student Don Touti he discovered he was “rusty” at math. Touti, 20, is working to become a police detective someday. He took Math 980 this past semester and found he was shaky with algebra and worse with geometry. “When I used to come to class, it was annoying because I wasn’t learning anything,” Touti says. “When you’re not learning anything, you start to get upset.”

SLCC Don Touti receives instruction from math instructor Rachel Marcial.

Both students were referred by their instructors to the Math Success Center. Located in the basement of the Markosian Library at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus, the Math Success Center is a large room loaded with computers, white boards and patient tutors. There, students meet with instructors like Rachel Marcial, who has taught math at SLCC for the past three years.

There is something about the center that holds a special place in the heart of Marcial. “I really like it when students get that ‘a-ha’ moment,” she says.

Marcial sees the process of understanding math as a way to build a student’s confidence. “Some students need a refresher, they knew it and they forgot,” she says. “Some students never got it, and they just kept getting pushed on and the gap got bigger and bigger.” Regardless of the issue, the Math Success Center provides students with the extra help they need for getting their skills in line with their future goals. For example, Marcial has seen nursing students seriously consider changing their career trajectories because of the difficulties in mastering math but instead decided to stay the course after working with the center.

Marcial also aims to make students comfortable in asking questions. “Some are quiet because they’re scared of looking dumb. So, I tell them, if you ask me a question, chances are five other people have the same question – so, you’re going to be their savior for asking.”


For Touti, asking questions hasn’t been as much about how it might look as it has been about timing. “In class, it was moving too fast,” he says. “I didn’t have enough time to ask the teacher questions.” Math Success, he notes, is on his pace, helpful and, notably, free.

Zimmerman was, in fact, that student who was afraid to speak up. In the past, even the simplest equation looked a bit like a foreign language. He needed time and help breaking down basic math problems. Math Success, which he started in October, has since yielded many dividends for Zimmerman. “I actually understand multiplication and division, and those are two things I thought I’d never understand,” he says. “That feels great.” And even though courses like calculus loom in his future, he is imbued with a new sense of confidence. “I know it’s something I can accomplish. The resource center will be helpful. I’m very lucky to have that.”

SLCC’s Math Success Center is open Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Students arrive there by referral from instructors or by their own accord. Once they begin using the center’s services, students are required to meet once a week with an instructor to evaluate their progress in the program, to set new goals and to review the pace at which they’re working. Math Success is a personalized experience that focuses on an individual’s strengths and weaknesses while accommodating personal goals and busy schedules. For more information about the Math Success Center, email MathSuccess@slcc.edu or call 801-957-5119.





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