College interns at local orthopedic companies are offering free tutoring to high school students.
The “Study at Starbucks” program is available every Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m. on the second floor at Starbucks inside Martin’s Supermarket. Primarily, the interns are providing help with students’ math and science, but students can get whatever help they need, according to WCHS Assistant Principal Amanda Scroggs.
The tutoring program came about when Zimmer intern Alexandra Schutzman, a second-year student at the University of Cincinnati, was looking for some community involvement.
“Alex contacted Mr. (WCHS Principal Troy) Akers, interested in helping someone. Akers forwarded her to me and we got to talking,” Scroggs said.
They came up with the idea of offering tutoring for students in math and science. WCHS already has tutoring sessions for students right after school, so a tutoring session later in the afternoon – and at Starbucks – was decided on for those involved in after-school activities or who want a break after school before hitting the books.
“We’re trying to get the word out,” Scroggs said Thursday night while seven interns were tutoring the two WCHS sophomores who showed up for help with their studies.
The seven interns included three from Biomet and four from Zimmer.
Callan Bialorucki, from Toledo, Ohio, is a third-year student at the University of Toledo interning at Zimmer.
“Even at a young age,” Bialorucki said, “When I was relatively good at something, I always wanted to help those struggling.”
Third-year University of Akron student Richard Stamets, also a Zimmer intern, said, “I’ve never tutored before and it seemed like a good outlet to bettering myself.”
The tutoring program is only in its second week, but he encouraged students to come out and get tutoring if they needed it.
“Lay a foundation now and get stronger in the future,” he said.
Ryan Schaller, a third-year Purdue University student studying biomedical engineering, is from Fort Wayne and he’s tutoring to “pay it forward.”
“I had a really amazing calculus teacher in high school,” Schaller said. “The way he taught made me feel I could come back here and have the same effect.”
A senior at Kettering University and intern at Biomet, Jessica Strayer, of Marion, Ohio, said, “I know when I was in high school it was always nice to have a tutor. I want to be a person that gives back, and (tutoring) helps me remember (the material).”
The difficulty of tutoring a student depends on the subject the student needs help with, Strayer said. She’s taken a lot of chemistry so chemistry comes back easily for her, she said.
A self-proclaimed “Navy brat”, Shannon Thompson is in her second year at the University of Toledo and an intern at Zimmer.
Tutoring, Thompson said, is “straight forward a review. More than that, developing communication skills and putting words to the math, to explain it in words.”
Cincinnati, Ohio’s Schutzman said, “It’s like Shannon said, it’s a review. It’s nice to being able to work on communication skills. It’s nice to be able to connect with (the students) and help them.”
Besides the study work, Schutzman, who is studying biomedical engineering, said the co-op students also can answer any other questions the high school students may have, like what an internship or job is like.
The tutoring also provides Schutzman with a flavor of the community where she is an intern.
“I feel a lot more engaged with the community and it feels like a home,” she said. “It’s also a way to connect with the other co-ops.”
The seventh intern Thursday night was Karsten Gamble, of Flint, Mich., a fourth-year student at Kettering University also interning at Biomet. He graduates in June.
Tutoring, Gamble said, “makes me look back at the people who helped me. It’s definitely good to give back and help.”
He encouraged high school students to come out on Thursday nights and take advantage of the free tutoring.
“Just remember, we were all in high school at one time,” he said. “We come from all walks of life.”
Scroggs said the plan is for the weekly one-hour tutoring to be offered for the rest of the school year.
When new interns arrive to the local orthopedic companies, Scroggs said, “We hope to continue the program with the new interns so it’s a sustainable program for a long time.”
Schutzman, Scroggs said, was able to bring all the other co-op students in to provide the tutoring to get the program going.
“We just need all the students to take advantage of this resource in the community,” Scroggs said.
