Bailey Adkins, a junior social science educator major at Troy University, has been recognized as the Troy Public Library’s 2018 Tutor of the Year. The award is for dedicated and valued community service.

Teresa Colvin, children and young adult librarian, presented the award to Adkins and expressed appreciation to her for her commitment to the TPL’s tutoring program and to the young students she has tutored and mentored so successfully.

“Bailey has been a TPL tutor for two years and, from the beginning, she has gone above and beyond what was asked of her and what was expected of her,” Colvin said. “Not only has she worked with her two students to improve their grades and their study habits, she has also served as a role model for them. They respect her and work hard to improve their grades. Their efforts are paying off.”

Adkins expressed appreciation for the recognition and shared it with the two students she tutors.

“They have worked hard and that has made what I do much easier,” she said. “When I began tutoring two years ago, I did so for extra credit for one of my classes. But, what started out as an assignment turned into something that now I could not imagine my week without.”

Adkins said the two young girls she tutors have brought her so much joy.

“The relationships I have built with them are unlike any other,” she said. “They have pushed me as much as I have pushed them. I am so incredibly proud of how far they have come. They have made me that much more excited to have students of my own one day.”
Colvin said the success that Adkins and her “girls” have enjoyed caused Adkins to think twice about her decision to go into secondary education.

“She thought about elementary education rather seriously but decided to stay in secondary education,” Colvin said. “But, with her dedication to her students and to education, I’m sure that Bailey will be an outstanding teacher no matter what grade level she teaches. I am proud of her and what she has been able to accomplish with the students that she tutored. And, I am equally proud of the progress her students have made and the success they have enjoyed.”

Colvin said the TPL’s tutoring program has been very successful for both the university students and those they tutor.

“The overall success rate of the library’s tutoring program has been extremely good,” she said. “The Troy Public Library is proud to offer this program. It’s a win-win for the university students and those they tutor and also for our library and our community.”