Whether students are staying up past midnight in an attempt to study for final exams, or if they are just trying to remember to cook a basic meal, post secondary education can be an extremely stressful time for many Lethbridge College students.

The Learning Café is full of resources that offers students several different ways to become successful. Lynda Duval, senior manger of learning services is in charge of allocating funding for the Learning Café, testing services and accessibility services. She explained there is more to the café then just its ability to assist students. Money always has to be available for the café to function effectively.

“When I am doing those calculations, I determine staffing and resources that we might need for the different programming we offer. Some funds are dedicated to specific initiatives and others are more general so that if someone approaches us with a need such as a student athlete, then we can allocate some of our resources.”

One aspect of the Learning Café that may seem under looked is the one-on-one help they offer student athletes. Not only do student athletes deal with regular course loads, they are also committed to their teammates.

Student athletes have to deal with the regular course load as well as school athletics.

Ryan Heggie, the head coach of the Kodiaks men’s basketball team explained how important the café is in regards to teaching student athletes about responsibility.
“I think it gets them thinking about the importance of you’re here to go to school and play basketball, but you need to get your schooling done or you can’t play basketball,” said Heggie.

Andrew Derksen the lead academic strategist finds himself working with tons of student athletes. Derksen explained how the café does not have enough stats to prove that they are the only reason why student athletes are succeeding, but he feels as if they definitely helping.

“We do have some evidence that shows that we are helping students stay in school, do better in school, and be more successful in general,” said Derksen.

The Learning Café is not only open to athletes but to general Lethbridge College students as well. If you would like to inquire more about booking an appointment feel free to stop by their location in the south section of the Buchanan Library. If you can’t drop in to book an appointment, you can call the Learning Café at 403-382-6952.

Student studying and using techniques taught at The Learning Cafe around the Library and preparing for their exams on Dec.1.