Tutors of the Month – October 2018

Region 10:

Milan Narula – I began tutoring with School on Wheels in 2016. I tutor in a group setting at an emergency domestic violence shelter. I love that I get to meet and work with lots of different students. I’ve had so much fun with all of them! This past summer, a friend and I applied for, and won, a community grant to buy Chromebooks to teach coding to kids. From the very beginning, the students at the shelter loved coding and being on the computer, and the tutors loved teaching it. One family in particular (10th grade sister, 7th grade brother and 4th grade sister) were especially quick to pick up coding, and they challenged us because we had to keep coming up with new curriculum. It was fun and rewarding to see how much progress they made in such a short time, and I only hope they’re able to continue coding in their next home. Initially, the plan was for July to be our Month of Code, but the kids loved it so much that we continued until school started, and we hope to keep coding during the school year (whenever the kids are done with their schoolwork). I wish everyone could see the students’ enthusiasm and eagerness to learn — it’s the best part of being a School on Wheels tutor.

Region 4:

Riki Aihara – My experience with School on Wheels has been eye opening. I never knew the extent of how many kids and families face homelessness so close to my own home. I had this idea of the suburbs that excluded such problems and realized I had been naive. Being able to help and support these kids in any way possible has been both challenging at times and pure joy in others. I hope to continue making a difference in children’s lives with this great organization.

Online:

Thu-Anh Holton – I came across School on Wheels when I did an internet search for ways I could help out children. Education was always a big part of my upbringing and I was fortunate enough to have a strong support system to push me and help me with my studies. I wanted to pass that along in any way that I could. With my work schedule I end up with little pockets of down time, and wanted to make the most of that time. I started by donating school supplies, because without those things, learning can be so much more difficult than it already is. When I found out that School on Wheels had an online tutoring program, I thought it would be a great fit and it certainly is. I travel a lot for work and I would never be able to commit to physically being at a specific location to tutor. I hope to continue to work with School on Wheels for as long as my schedule allows. It’s such a great feeling seeing smiles on my students’ faces when they accomplish something!

Region 5:

Michael Hacker – In 2011, I was working a demanding job with the typical nagging desire of wanting to “give back.” I realized that I had to simply take that first step or nothing would ever happen. School On Wheels looked like a great organization and that proved to be a good hunch. I started with a student in Hollywood, and we worked together until he graduated from high school. We’re still in close contact, and he’s moved to Oregon and is living a productive and happy life. Last year I started working with Iris, who’s about to start her senior year in high school. Just an hour a week can make an enormous difference in the lives of these students, and it definitely continues to change my life in an extremely positive way.

Skid Row Learning Center:

Jennifer Soto – This coming November will be a full year of tutoring with Schools on Wheels. I get the biggest smile when the kids tell me how the tips I gave them for the week helped improved their school work. It’s amazing to know that tutoring once a week can still can make a big difference in the students school work. I had a student recently tell me that her goal is to be a famous DJ. She asked if I could help her with an assignment to explain why she wants to become a DJ, list ways on how she can reach her goal to become a DJ and come up with a creative DJ name. I love how our students always set their goals high. I like to remind the students that they can achieve as many goals they set their mind to. Any goal can be achieved, if they take the right steps on getting there and if they continue to have a positive mind with determination to never give up. I try to tell them not to listen to the people who say their goal is unrealistic or unachievable. A quote a friend told me once was there is three C’s in life, choices, chances and changes, we must make a choice to take a chance or our life will never change. I like to share this advice with our students, it’s a great way to explain why we should take the chance to pursue our goals. I will always want to continue tutoring at Schools on Wheels and thank you again for picking me as your tutor of the month!