This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Gettysburg chapter.

Written by “John Cena”

Over Thanksgiving break, I realized I was having trouble explaining my role as peer learning associate to my family. It was kind of like a teaching assistant, I supposed though I wasn’t a graduate student. I got to participate in class discussions and keep up with all the readings, and I held office hours to provide writing help. At the same time, I didn’t have the authority of a TA; I was only one year ahead of the students, and I had no degree or training to justify myself.

The class was a first-year seminar taught by my favorite professor, and it was called “Through the War-Drobe: The Words and Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.” Now, I don’t mess around with my love of these two dorks–The Lord of the Rings is definitively my favorite book (or books)–so accepting the position was the obvious choice. It did, after all, present a variety of opportunities: I would get to spend the semester studying my favorite writer and his fellow Inkling, copy editing essays, and discussing some of my favorite works of literature. But what I got was dynamically different from what I expected.

In three semesters at Gettysburg, I have not come across a class of any discipline so engaging and so bound to one another. From the first day, there was a sense of acceptance among them; some were loquacious, some reticent, most fairly nerdy, all of them extraordinary. They respected the hell out of each other, and they surprised me. The topics we covered were not easy to debate: childhood, death, love, faith. They got personal when it was most intimidating to do so, and, in that way, I saw them becoming greater minds and better friends.

What was most surprising, however, were their efforts to develop a relationship with me. I didn’t feel privileged or admired sitting beside my professor during class but like another student, eager to discuss themes of nationalism and gender in The Fellowship of the Ring. We went back and forth, posing questions, pondering solutions, admitting things we did not know, cracking the none-too-occasional joke. They offered perspectives I had never considered before. From them, I have gained a certain, definitive wisdom.

I have also gained friendship. There were a number of times when I stayed late during my office hours to talk about one student’s night out or critique another’s creative writing. They would stop me in the dining center to ask about my day and shout friendly greetings across campus. They called me John Cena. Even the more bashful ones were always smiling.

These students were, beyond a doubt, a fellowship, a fitting name for a group of individuals so bright and compassionate. I have always found some of my favorite people to be Tolkien people, and First Year Seminar 191-4 has but solidified this hypothesis. Their dedication is what our world needs in a growing era of complacency. Their passions will shape more than just their own lives, and their camaraderie will long dictate their actions.

I will deeply miss this class not only because of the subject matter or the brilliant professor, but because of the students that shaped my past semester. Each time I sat down in Glatfelter 311, winded from the stairs and my embarrassing lack of cardiovascular endurance, my bad days were swept clean, and I was pulled into a world of literature and faith where I could count on good discussion and agreeable personalities. Being greeted by calls of “John Cena!” and the subsequent theme song (one of them even played it on the recorder when I walked in) shaded my worries, if only temporarily. Every time I walked out of class I was a little better than I had been before.

So yes, I gained all the resume skills you might expect: leadership, organization, time management. I got to re-read some of my favorite books and explore less than mainstream works from Tolkien and Lewis. I worked with students on essays from the first outline to the last copy edit and ran to the library to do final revisions just hours before the deadline.

But the experience as a whole surpassed its job description. There was no greater reward than seeing a student’s writing improve or watching someone normally shy speak out in class. “Hey, John Cena!” could get me through a tough week. Our conversations about Tolkien and otherwise were comforting and profound.

It was worth all the late night reading, realizing at one in the morning that I had to finish The Hobbit by that afternoon. There was not a single minute of wasted time. I would gladly give my free hours to discuss essay structure or search for source material or question the philosophy of good versus evil.

I am glad for the time I was awarded these students and grateful for their insight and kindness, for in the end they were the experience I was seeking. Though I have reaped the benefits of my time with FYS 191-4, the semester was always theirs. I was simply around to watch them thrive.

But for that I am thankful. For that and for the fellowship I have gained.

The Fellowship of the First-Year Seminar: My Experience as a Peer Learning Associate

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