Our Community Extends Beyond the Students
While students always come first as we design our programming, our tutors often report Invest in Youth has a big impact on them as well. Read on.
meet andrew lo, boaRd chair and tutor
Andrew is a tutor at South Shore Elementary in the Rainier Beach neighborhood. Although his student was a math whiz he lagged in reading skills. Over the course of a school year Andrew incorporated reading activities into their weekly sessions and reported that his student became a proficient reader and began to enjoy it as an activity.
To cap off their incredible year, his student was chosen as a Rainier Scholar to participate in this selective program that drives enrollment at four-year colleges and universities.
Nick Glomb
Nick began volunteering with Invest in Youth as a way to connect with his community while at the same time gain experience working in schools. What he didn’t realize at the time was the impact Invest in Youth would have for his future plans.
“It isn’t often that an ideology truly resonates with me but that’s exactly what Invest In Youth did,” Nick says. “The approach of one-on-one mentorship is inspiring and one that I believe truly helps students achieve a higher potential than when taught in a group setting.”
Nick reports he is now a third-grade teacher, largely due to his experience at Invest In Youth. “As I go forward I think often of how I can take the lessons and models learned at Invest in Youth and apply them to my future educational endeavors.”
Rich Deck, former board chair and tutor
“Keith was convinced he couldn’t do math and that he wasn’t good at reading,” says Rich, but throughout their time together they worked long and hard on building his confidence and moved at a pace that allowed Keith to feel successful.
In the beginning of the second year, Rich reports that Keith seemed to enjoy the work they were doing and was staying caught up with his homework. They set goals together and celebrated as a team when he achieved them. And the change in his confidence, Rich shares, was amazing through their once-a-week tutoring sessions.
Jackie Prideaux, former Vice Chair and tutor
“Mia was a shy third grader,” Jackie says of her student she tutored for three years. “By the time she was on her way to middle school she had grown into a smart, outgoing and athletic student.”
While not every student-tutor relationship lasts three years, tutors consistently say one of the greatest joys of tutoring is nurturing the one-on-one relationship Invest in Youth fosters.