At Grossmont College, the Math Jam program is transforming lives—just ask Nick Sveine, a dedicated math tutor who started Grossmont College after 10 years away from academic life. After serving seven years in the Navy, Sveine was both excited and apprehensive about returning to school.
“I was really skeptical about coming back,” Sveine said. “I was kind of afraid, but I knew that I loved math, it was something I always loved and that never left.”
Sveine knew he needed support, and that’s when he learned about the Math Jam and seized the opportunity to build his confidence before tackling college algebra. The Math Jam program at Grossmont College is a one-week math program before the start of the fall semester. It allows students to meet their instructors and other students, learn about resources on campus, and review necessary skills to prepare them for college-level algebra.
“It was really helpful for me to get that boost of confidence,” Sveine said. “Then I started the semester in college algebra, and I did really well. I succeeded. I did much better than I thought I was going to do.
But Math Jam wasn’t just about academics. It introduced Sveine to a supportive community like Professor Susan Working, who taught the fall 2023 Math Jam, and inspired his path toward teaching. Being a tutor has created a dream to return to Grossmont College as a professor and inspire students and support them the same way he was.
“Not only did Math Jam prepare me by introducing me to my professors, getting comfortable with them, learning that they were here for us,” Sveine said. “It got me in the door with tutoring. I saw that I could get involved with tutoring and I wanted to get involved.”
His experience with Math Jam sparked his commitment to tutoring and his dream of becoming a math professor at Grossmont College, a place he now feels deeply connected to. Sveine’s academic journey has since expanded beyond math. As a tutor in the Writing Center, he’s been able to make an impact across disciplines and broaden his skills. He attributes much of his success to professors like Working and Daniela Sow.
“I enjoy being taught by people who I feel like they care about me,” Sveine said. “They directly care about my learning. I take inspiration from them because I want to be the kind of teacher they are.”