Instead of relaxing at tropical beaches this summer, Jessica Latta traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to attend a program at Carnegie Mellon. The summer program, Carnegie Mellon Summer School in Logic and Epistemology, introduces an interdisciplinary approach to philosophy. "I didn't realize how rigorously I could study philosophy and mathematics and how interconnected they can be," Latta said. "Math has huge philosophical implications."
 

Latta did not know what to expect in the City of Bridges. Joined by twenty-four students from all over the world, she spent thirty days discussing philosophical ideas. Some days Latta would spend hours and hours engaged in academically stimulating conversation. "I expected that the program would be too advanced for me, but I was at the same-level." Latta said. "It gave me confidence."  

Along with her brand-new confidence, Latta discovered genuine interests, both academically and personally. She learned that she is more interested in the philosophy of minds, rather then philosophy's connectivity to math. Through visiting and exploring Pittsburgh's city streets, Latta also rediscovered her passion - music. "This has been a learning experience, and it has helped me to remember about my love for music." Latta said. "I want to diversify myself."
 

Amy Perelman, director of the Writing & Reading Center, understands that writing can be a struggle. For twenty-one years, she has worked to find the best writing tutors possible. "We want students with good minds, who are good thinkers." Perelman said. "And we try to determine whether or not they have big hearts." The peer tutors undergo an extensive orientation that teaches the Writing Center's guiding philosophy. The center uses a non-directive style of tutoring - guide but do not impose. This style relies on a lot of listening, questioning, observing, and modeling. 

Not only does the center's philosophy work well with face-to face tutoring, but it also works well with online tutoring. Online tutoring's primary goal is to serve the hard-to-reach student population. According to Professor Susan Hagan, it also provides nontraditional students the same benefits as traditional students. "The goal is to serve fully online students and give them the same benefits as face-to-face students," Hagan said. "We give them the same access."
 

In the last year, online tutoring has seen a 90% increase in usage. "It takes no time or effort for students; they just need to submit it," said Hagan. "Even 'A' students use the service." Jordan Frey, a sophomore mechanical engineering student, utilized online tutoring because he wanted more input on his papers. And he was not disappointed. "Every assignment I turned in to the Writing Center received high marks from my instructors," said Frey. "I guarantee that you will become a better reader, writer, and researcher by listening to your tutor's advice."
 

Years ago, Professor Anthony Arrigo visited one of the greatest engineering achievements of human history - Hoover Dam. His visit sparked ideas for his new book, Imaging Hoover Dam: The Making of a Cultural Icon, which was published this October by the University of Nevada Press. His book started as a stroll down memory lane. He gathered Hoover Dam photographs and labeled his research as a public memory.
 

But quickly the story transformed into a more complicated one. "Hoover Dam is celebrated as a great feat of Americanism, and it is that," Arrigo said. "But the photographs tell a different side, a different aspect." During his research, Arrigo questioned the lack of representation for women and minorities during the dam's construction. Why were there no images of minorities working on the dam? Why were there no images of women working on the dam, only with children?
 

According to Arrigo, iconic photos that we have come to recognize as Hoover Dam are selected for a rhetorical purpose. "By looking at the untold photos, views change," Arrigo said. "It's not just the iconic images that make up what Hoover Dam is." In the classroom, Arrigo creates a continuity of theories from the book to his Visual Communication class. He utilizes his visual intelligence and explains to his students that they need to imagine beyond the photograph. "Photos are not reality," Arrigo said. "They tell stories, but not the whole story."