The room is filled with chatter of academic discourse as Ryan Schaefer strolls from one student to another around the rectangular tables in the Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center (ALEC) at SMU.

For four days every week, Schaefer performs this same table-hopping routine, solving errors and giving advice to students from different computer science classes at the tutoring center.

The thrill of helping students navigate through problems in code is something that Schaefer enjoys since it keeps him familiar with computer science concepts and helps him make new friends.

Like many other high school graduates, Schaefer was looking forward to meeting people and enjoying his first-year college experience at SMU. But after he was robbed of a social life due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Schaefer turned to the only place he knew to find some – at the tutoring center.

“In my first few years, I didn’t know anyone because classes were all online,” Schaefer said. “I saw this as a good way to meet other Computer Science students since I never had the orientation experience. There are lots of people that I am good friends with now that I wouldn’t have met if it wasn’t for my tutoring.”

Ryan Schaefer (left), 21, tutors a Data Structures student Monday at the Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center at SMU. Photo by Kirk Ogunrinde.

For most of his life, Schaefer lived in a small town just outside of Austin, Texas. His father, a data analyst, played a massive role in his life and development.

Shaefer vividly remembers drawing statistical tables and graphs of sports teams with his father at the early age of six. While he does not attribute any learning motive to that exercise, he admits that that could’ve been the root of his interest in computer science.

But Schaefer’s familiarity with tutoring did not come overnight. His first stint was during his senior year of high school, where he tutored underclassmen for the National Honor Society for a few hours every week.

Looking back to when he started at SMU, Schaefer’s tutoring schedule looks very different from what it was when he originally got the job two years ago. He started out tutoring writing classes and calculus. Now, he tutors only computer science and statistics.

Sometimes one has to go through an unorthodox route to get to their final destination, Schaefer said.

“With the ALEC, a lot of the traffic is based on reputation,” he said. “You don’t get many students until you’re known by people in that field. It took a while for me to garner the attention I get now.”

Much of the attention Schaefer speaks of comes from students enrolled in Data Structures (CS 2341), a class that has gained notoriety as the most demanding course for computer science majors.

While undergoing a class notorious for its difficulty and demand, for these students, Schaefer is their best hope at achieving success in that class.

“During my first few semesters, I did not tutor a single student who was going through data structures,” he said. “Now most of the time, the room is filled with students from that class.”

Schaefer reminisces about going through the same class when he himself was a sophomore. Like all other students, the class was particularly difficult for Schaefer and took a lot of his free time.

Tutoring the class brings back a lot of fond memories and realizations for Schaefer. It also reminds him of the close relationships he has made over the years through the class.

“When I went through data structures, I struggled just like everyone else,” he said. “At the end of the class, I had that moment where it all clicked, and since then I’ve reflected back and have constantly found better ways of doing the same projects.”

Outside tutoring and classes, Schaefer spends his time at the gym and watching European soccer games with his friends, many of whom he met through computer science and tutoring.

“I’ve been going to the gym a lot recently,” he said. “I also watch my favorite team West Ham United when I can, and sometimes with my friends. I love talking about football.”

But even doing something he loves in tutoring, Schaefer says his journey has been one full of ups and downs.

While Schaefer understands many of the computer science concepts himself, he says teaching them to others could sometimes be challenging.

“Sometimes I explain things the way they make sense to me, and sometimes I have to almost reverse engineer my entire thought process to think of the same problem in a different way to be able to explain it to someone else,” he said.

Ryan also tutors classes in similar fields like data science and database management.

For sophomore Reese Mellor, who is studying Computer Science and Data Science, this versatility is one of the things that makes Ryan stand out as a tutor.

“He [Ryan] is literally the best,” Mellor said. “His kindness and patience with everybody is something you don’t often see, even at the ALEC. It blows my mind how intelligent he is.”

Despite being a hands-on tutor, Schaefer’s main worry is being too hands-on with the help he provides. Among the long line of students that come to see him for help, he has noticed a few who perhaps expect a bit too much from him.

One has to draw a fine line between doing the work for students and not giving the students enough to do the work themselves, Schaefer explains.

“It’s a difficult balance, but some of the tutors lean a bit too much to doing too much work for people,” he said. “I try not to do that but I find myself doing it. It’s frustrating when a student is putting in minimal effort on their own and they come to you for help and expect them to help them.”

Still a student and peer, Schaefer is still learning to be more assertive during his tutoring sessions. But that is something that is appreciated by many students, like sophomore Melanie Cloud, a computer science major at SMU.

“I appreciate it when he [Ryan] helps me without giving me the answers. He really knows it all,” Cloud said.

Throughout the time Cloud has spent at Ryan’s tutoring hours, she has seen her role develop from his tutee to his friend. She thanks him as they converse about school life. Ryan then heads to assist another student.

For him, this is just another Monday.