my savior
The Math Lab is a room set aside at a school for students to study, do homework and get help with math.
The frog telling us "don't ever give up," the motivational cartoons, the giant anti-whining sign, the bulletin board filled with played out math-related email forwards. Worn brown carpet and coffee machine.
At
Cochise College Sierra Vista Campus, the Math Lab is located in Building
P-2 and is open M-R 7am-8pm and Fridays until 3pm. For the truly dedicated (or pathetic) it is also open on
Saturdays from 1pm-4pm. The Math Lab also offers help in
CIS and
Chemistry in addition to just about any level of
math. 7 computers are available for
student use (and I happen to be using one right now). The Lab is run by
Lois Bennett, a charming
old lady who will
always be able to kick my
ass at math of any kind.
Tutors are always available, and they come in many different shapes and sizes. The student population of the Lab also comes in a wide variety (it's a
community college), but there are about 10-20
regulars who are here just about all the time in various combinations.
The Math Lab became my second home while I was taking College Algebra during my senior year of high school. Unlike most of my fellow noders, math is a constant struggle for me, and requires insane effort (which was hard to summon during the last semester of my senior year). I owe the ever patient people at the Math Lab a great deal for getting me through that course (which allowed me to attend NAU the next fall).