When Pitzer College student Akila Ramaswamy advises a group of incoming freshmen, one of the first things she tells them about is the “Pitzer culture.”

For the 20-year-old junior, that culture is one that respects community service and makes it part of the institution. It is the reason she enrolled and the reason she volunteers each week as a tutor for low-income, low-achieving children.

“For me, the social responsibility aspect is a lot of [the Pitzer culture], whether it's activism or tutoring,” Ramaswamy said. “I think that’s the biggest component of Pitzer.”

Ramaswamy came to Pitzer from Darien, Ill., a suburb southwest of Chicago. She serves as a mentor for first-year students and works with the College's admission office to arrange on-campus visits for prospective students. Though she is interested in a career in medicine, she majored in psychobiology because she feels the psychology component would broaden her understanding of the human condition.

“You don't get the full person if you're just thinking of them as cells,” she said.

From her first year at Pitzer, Ramaswamy has been tutoring at the Vista Valle townhouse complex in neighboring Pomona. Much of her time is spent with Bernice, a fourth-grader who is especially behind in math.

It can be discouraging, she said, to see so many students who have been promoted to another grade level without even a basic grasp of reading or math. But there are rewards, too.

“Because we're one-on-one, we know what [the students] aren't really good at, and what they need help in,” said Ramaswamy. “I like the fact that I can be there for that one kid.”

Change is afoot in the advancement office as Pitzer builds momentum in a major fund-raising campaign. Alice Holzman, vice president for college advancement, will be focusing her efforts on major gifts, annual giving and parent and alumni relations. Gary Cordova will become the associate vice president for college advancement with responsibility for development services, campaign communication and coordination of fund-raising efforts between advancement and the president’s office. Gary will serve as the campaign director and retain his current duties as secretary to the board.

Jessie Pryce, former administrative assistant in college advancement and alumni notes editor for the Participant, has resigned her position to spend more time with her family.

The residue of a six-week road trip that cut a swath across Middle America will be on view through Dec. 15 in the Sanborn Studio. The exhibit contains maps, notes, stories, menus, memorabilia, kitsch, pieces of the road, remnants and photographs collected by a dozen students and professor Michael Woodcock during a road trip last spring from Santa Monica to Chicago on what remains of Route 66.

Auditions for “The Souls of Black Folks,” a living history museum performance piece, will be held Dec. 1 and 2 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Baxter Hall, Scripps. Please prepare a one- to three-minute monologue for the audition. For a more information, contact Kim at x76093.

Registration forms are due Thursday for “Y2 Lead,” a student leadership conference to be held Saturday, Jan. 22, at Smith Campus Center, Pomona. The purpose of the conference is to provide formalized and practical training for developing student leaders, to encourage students to look at various models of leadership and the philosophical reasons for “why” they have taken leadership positions and to provide students with an opportunity to interact with other campus leaders. Registration is limited to 150 students (30 from each campus). For more information, call Micki at x74176.

An exhibition of “some bizarre and quirky tables and place settings” constructed using mixed media and ceramics by students in Art 131 will be on view Monday through Thursday in Nichols Gallery (located inside Broad Center). Art 131, “Mixing it Up,” is taught by professors David Furman and Kathryn Miller. The gallery is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.