Mathematics and Statistics Help Center’s tutors provide individualized support
By Bren Belmonte, November 3, 2026
Students fill long white seated tables during the weekly afternoon rush as applied mathematics student Max Morphew walks around with a whiteboard and marker to assist inquiring students. Each workspace is covered with calculators, notebooks, computers, textbooks and physical writing materials.
The Mathematics and Statistics Help Center, located in Building 8, room 57 offers assistance in 1000 and 2000 level math and statistics courses. The tutor staff consists of undergraduates, graduates and math department faculty who help students tackle topics such as statistics, probability, algebra, trigonometry, liberal arts math and calculus.
“Having a dedicated space in the math department demonstrates to the students we are invested in their success and that giving them support is worth prioritizing,” said Emily Heath, MaSH coordinator and an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
Heath said her role as MaSH coordinator entails hiring, managing and scheduling tutors and handling the data of student visits.
Morphew, a tutor at the center, prefers students to communicate each step with their best guess. With Morphew’s guidance, the student communicates how they are going to answer the question by utilizing course resources such as notes.
After checking in at the entrance kiosk, students are encouraged to sit at a labeled table coinciding with the math class they are taking, according to Morphew. The center provides formula sheets, lists of tests for each class as well as calculus and algebra textbooks.
“People come to the center to learn, catch up, study and do (the work) themselves without relying on external sources other than their professors, tutors and textbook notes,” Morphew said.
Omar Garcia, an applied mathematics student, visits the center to receive assistance for his Introduction to Statistics course. Garcia said when he had trouble with homework involving an h-hypothesis test or binomial distributions, he did not hesitate to visit the center.
Garcia and Morphew recently collaborated on a whiteboard to identify and visualize concepts better such as drawing out p-value, Garcia said. Garcia first drew out a normal distribution, finding a point on the horizontal line to draw a line while Morphew provided support throughout the process, according to Garcia.
“I keep coming back because MaSH is basically there all day which is so helpful because at any moment I need help I can just go to the center,” Garcia said. “I would encourage anyone to go because it’s such a friendly and great environment.”
Mathematics graduate student and tutor Elizabeth Anderson said students often have trouble understanding content rules, integral tests, calculus and statistics.
Outside the center, Anderson is a statistics lecturer at Cal Poly Pomona who tells her students “not being a math person” is a myth. She assures them visiting the center assists in passing the course.
“I had a student ask me if I could give proof as to why something was true, and I demonstrated that,” Anderson said. “It was cool that the student not only understood but was curious.”
As of publication, this semester brought in 1,500 visitors, according to Heath. Heath said the highest foot traffic appears on weekdays during mid-to-late afternoon, especially during midterm season.
Behind the scenes, Heath said it is her morning ritual to unlock the door of the center and check in on the tutors who are the first to clock in. Heath said sometimes she hears about technical problems with the kiosk located at the entrance or comments about high foot traffic.
“Algebra feels like a puzzle, and even though math problems are challenging, they’re fun to work through and rewarding when you reach a solution,” Morphew said. “It kind of feels like you’re going into an escape room looking around for puzzles and hints to solve your math problem.”
Beyond 1000- and 2000-level math courses, the center offers extra help for liberal studies math courses for future elementary school teachers interested in teaching math, Heath said. By assisting future educators, they will understand more than the ability to answer the equation, but how to address questions elementary students might have, according to Heath.
As students continue to visit the center to seek assistance or work independently, the goal remains to focus on students’ needs for understanding math concepts, Heath said. What began as an idea to help students with math courses evolved to tutors and faculty helping build confidence one student at a time, according to Heath.