FMU McNair Scholar gives back through tutoring program

Summer is typically a time most college students spend relaxing.

Kennedy Glasgow (’20), a sophomore at Francis Marion University and Nursing major, isn’t a typical college student.

This summer, Glasgow dedicated much of her time to the “Summer Institute for Smarties” (SYS), an elementary-age tutoring program she and some friends created in an effort to give back to her hometown of Newberry, S.C.

The SYS program, says Glasgow, is designed to combat summer learning loss, a problem that bedevils students and educators nationwide. The concept of summer learning loss is quite simple. As students distance themselves from the classroom over the summer, their retention of knowledge dissipates, resulting in at best a slow start to the new school year, and at worst a regression of knowledge.

Consequently, students are often woefully underprepared to begin the new school year, which means valuable instruction time is spent on review and catch-up.

SYS offered a partial remedy for that — and for the general summer lassitude that can plague kids.

“We know how summers can be. There’s not a lot to do,” Glasgow says.

Glasgow has discovered SYS didn’t just help the kids attending it.

“I think it’s helped a lot with developing skills I’ll use in my career,” she says. “I’ve gotten really good at communication, organization and being able to anticipate potential issues. Being able to work one-on-one with people has improved my bedside manner as well.”