BY: CODY PRIDDY

Created in 2000, the REACH program has been an integral part in the University of Louisville’s academic successes.

The REACH program is dedicated to “support the academic success of a diverse undergraduate student population,” and “promoting the intellectual and personal growth of undergraduate students”.

The program offers tutoring and academic support services for 100, 200, and 300 level classes, and since 2003, over 25,000 individual students have utilized the service for a total of over 485,000 hours of supplemental practice.

Upon the program’s beginnings in 2000, REACH employed two professional staff members, one graduate student assistant, and 54 qualified students as tutors. As of today, all of those figures have exploded. REACH now employs 15 professional staff members,16 graduate student assis- tants, and 150 tutors.

The benefits of REACH are not strictly limited to the amount of input time for undergraduate students. In fact, seven of the fourteen 2010 U of L Fulbright scholars were employed by REACH.

This is obviously a great thing for the program’s success and for students who are part of the program as well, considering they have some of the brightest young minds guiding them on their personal academic

journey.
Junior Brendan Stivers currently

works within the REACH welcome center inside Strickler Hall. Stivers’ job is to welcome students to the REACH program, and he also is available for information regarding the program.

Stiver told The Cardinal, “When you walk into the library, you kind of get that atmosphere of ‘it’s time to be quiet’, but when you’re in here, you have people who come around joking, and when you’re talking to your ambassador, you have other people standing around who can join in, and the atmosphere just feels like a comfort zone.”

Annie Fitzpatrick, Brendan Stivers’ boss at REACH, also weighed in on the benefits of REACH, stating, “There’s a lot of things about REACH, but the one top thing is probably that we are all here to get help to the students, we are here as an academic support unit. Our goal and mission is to get help to our students any way that we can, and if we can’t help, we want to connect the students to someone who can.”

REACH isn’t just a tutoring service, REACH gives students support through providing an at ease environment in which students can find someone to talk to about any problems they may have academically, and does so in a manner that young adults can be comfortable with.

Cody Priddy is a freshman. This is his first piece for the Cardinal.

Photo Courtsey of Louisville REACH