“The impact I am having on their lives is as big as the impact they are having on mine. Every time I walk into their classroom and see their excitement to come with me, to read or work on math brings me so much joy. It shows me that they are happy to learn with me and that I am doing my best to help them and motivate them.”

“Since I became a tutor, I have grown a lot myself which is something I did not think would happen. I learned to sympathize with others’ struggles in learning and focusing on things since I now know how hard it really is. There is also this proud feeling I get from being in the IDRA Valued Youth Partnership, there is that feeling of knowing I am helping the younger generation to grow and succeed in their education and knowing that I am actively making a difference for my tutee’s education.” See Roslynne's full essay.

“Once I joined the program and I started tutoring those little kids, it made me realize and remember why I started working hard in the first place. When I tutor them, they get so excited to see me, and they run to me with books or letter games to do with them. They are so eager to learn, and it has made me eager to learn now too, again.”

“I used to wake up exhausted, wanting to skip school – which I actually did out of being burnt out – and falling asleep in some of my classes, like math or English language arts. When I went to Athens to tutor, I wanted to be a role model for the students at Athens. So, I started to sleep earlier, pay attention to class, actually do some more work and started to think more positively. I even started to be happier at home and nicer to my siblings, which led to me helping them more often with homework or in little projects for school.”

“What tutoring means to me is a lot more than some job that I have been hired to do. It is more special than that. It provides me with the opportunity to bond and help children who do not understand subjects like math and/or reading. Even if I was not being paid, I would still volunteer to help because I like to see the tutees grow and learn to finally understand what did not make sense before.”