Open PAC
Open PAC - General Peer Academic Support
Location: Student Academic Services (SAS) Downstairs in Starbuck Center Sunday-Thrusday 7-9PMWhat will you find at Open PAC?
- Open study space!
- English Language Learner support
- Study guide help and study skills development
- Time-managment support
- Referrals to appropriate Campus Resources
- General academic support
| Sun 7-9 PM | Mon 7-9 PM | Tues 7-9 PM | Wed 7-9 PM | Thurs 7-9PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan | Cary | Jonathan | Rachel | Yury |
| Cary | Yury | Sara | Cary | Rachel |
meet the open pac team
Cary Chiarelli '25 - PAC Captain
Major: Social Work
Â鶹Æƽâ°æ me:I am a sophomore from Worcester, Massachusetts. I enjoy skiing, drawing, and hanging out with my dog.
Why PAC?Everyone learns differently, and I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to find support. I have struggled a lot in the past with studying, as well as simply being confident that I am able to retain the information I just read when it comes time to take the test or write the paper. So now I want to be able to share this with others so I could possibly help them avoid that struggle and skip to the confidence.
Favorite class and why? My favorite class has been Introduction to Public Health. Professor ¶Ù’I²õ²¹²ú±ð±ô’spassion for public health made the course so inviting and fun. I loved learning about the health care and welfare systems in the United States. We also looked a lot at the COVID-19 pandemic and what the government did well in response and where their response was lacking. I definitely recommend taking this course if you get the opportunity.
Academic advice: Give yourself a break. You got this. It is important to be aware of when you are putting to much pressure on yourself because that is not going to help you.
Sara Hastie '27 
Majors: Anthropology and Social Work
Â鶹Æƽâ°æ me: I am a sophomore from Amherst, Massachusetts. I am a member of the Women's Basketball team here at Â鶹Æƽâ°æ and I'm also a Peer Health Educator. I enjoy playing pickup basketball, doing work with friends at different coffee shops, and having movie nights. I also enjoy traveling and visiting new places when given the opportunity!
Why PAC? I used PAC all the time my first semester at Â鶹Æƽâ°æ, and it was incredibly helpful in the transition to college level coursework. I would love to help create a good studying environment and pass on some of the skills I've used to be successful here.
Favorite Class and Why? My favorite class so far has been Introduction to Cultural Anthropology in my first semester at Â鶹Æƽâ°æ. This was a basic intro class, but I loved the overview of what was to come in the Anthropology department. The class never felt like "work" because everything we were learning was interesting and important in the world around us. Definitely convinced me to become an Anthropology major!
Academic Advice: Find what works for you! I struggle with organization and time management, and it has taken a lot of trial and error to figure out what system I can use to stay on top of everything. We all have different preferences and that's okay!
Yury Leonardo '25
Major: Mathematics 
Â鶹Æƽâ°æ me: I am a Senior from Cleveland, Ohio. On my free time I like reading, drawing, cooking, dancing (any type of physical moving activity, you name it, I've done it!) and taking north woods walks while talking to friends.
Why PAC? The Peer Academic Coaches have been there for me all throughout my freshman and sophomore years. I want to give back to my community by being that person that helps the incoming and struggling students.
Favorite class: My favorite class in Â鶹Æƽâ°æ has been ceramics 1 and 2 along with Calculus 3 and 4. Ceramics class is because that's the one time where I can work 3-Dimensional. When it comes to calculus, the professor in these two classes is what made me finally enjoy the process. It became my favorite classes because I finally got that closeness to calculus that I needed and that are helping me in my mathematics career.
Academic advice: Time management! Whether is to manage time to have fun and turn in things on time, or if it is to space out your work to not get burnt out, managing your time and responsibilities along with downtime is going to help you with your academic success.
Jonathan Ramirez '25
Major: Environmental Science 
Â鶹Æƽâ°æ me: I am a sophomore from Brooklyn, New York City. I enjoy spending the day with friends or with family when I am home. I also like to bake, although I don't do it as often as I'd like to.
Why PAC?: I've been going to PAC sessions throughout my freshman year, and it really helped me when I needed it most. When the opportunity to be a PAC tutor arose, I felt that my experience with tutoring kids provided me with some skills that would be useful for the job and that this new experience could help me improve on those skills.
Favorite Class and Why: My favorite class would have to be Field Studies in Environmental Science. It was definitely challenging for me since I had never written a research paper before and writing one was essential for the class, but the professors were helpful with feedback and gave us multiple chances to continue improving it. The labs were also engaging and took us outdoors multiple times, which I found to be really fun.
Academic Advice: Don't compare yourself to your peers who excel academically. It can be damaging to your self-esteem. Everyone's journey is different, focus on yourself and take pride in your own accomplishments.
Rachel Xia '26
Major: Mathematics and Psychology 
Â鶹Æƽâ°æ me: I'm a sophomore from Tianjin, China. I like playing tennis and dancing. I'm taking riding class at Â鶹Æƽâ°æ now and I love it!
Why PAC?: I want to help others to solve math problems because PAC has been really helpful to me throughout my math courses in the past.
Favorite class: My favorite math class in Â鶹Æƽâ°æ so far is MA 215.
Academic advice: Be creative when you are thinking of all the possibilities to solve problems and don't give up before you even try!