Amber Smith

azsmith@vt.edu

Amber Zoe Smith is an associate director in the Student Success Center at Virginia Tech. Since 2014, she has taught and led academic support initiatives—tutoring, academic coaching, first-year seminars, and peer educator training—across multiple programs and institutions. Her work focuses on preparing peer educators to teach and mentor through strong communication practices, intentional community-building, and a balanced understanding of their dual peer–educator identity. This approach reflects her broader commitment to cultivating belonging and student agency.

Amber is the copy editor for the Journal of Peer Learning and has published in Honors in Higher Education and the Journal of the European Honors Council. She has taught courses in college success, peer education pedagogy, and English composition and literature, drawing on her background as a writing tutor and editor.

In 2025, Amber earned the Level 4 Lifetime Learning Center Leadership Certification, the highest possible certification in the field of learning center administration. She holds an MFA in creative writing from George Mason University and dual Bachelor’s degrees in English and Spanish with a music minor from Virginia Tech.