Photo by Maria Eliades
What do you do professionally?
I work with taping with my uncle –doing interior design. Like if there needs to be a wall that needs fixing or a glass screen that needs to be added. Pretty much the reshaping of the interior of a building or a room. I do the constructive part of interior design.
Why do you tutor at CIANA?
I’m enrolled in a masters program in education, so I’m here to get exposure to teaching, but I also already really enjoy tutoring and working with kids, whether through teaching math or writing, or summer camp activities. Tutoring here really gives me the idea of what it means to be a teacher.
What differences do you see in your students from one session to another?
The difference is definitely in their knowledge, in their mathematics and writing. I have goals, like teaching them a certain math topic, and I see in the end that they really learn a lot in a session. When I tutor them again in another session, I try to see if they’ve learned from what I taught them.
I also want to go beyond teaching to make sure that I can improve their focus. Because the kids can get distracted. I believe that that way they can get more out of what they’re learning.
Why do you think CIANA is an important part of integrating new Americans into New York City and the United States?
The minorities of this country struggle financially, so this program seeks to give their children the opportunities to be able to grow in their educations, in their future, and in their careers so that way they can integrate themselves well into society –the way that the more privileged do. CIANA wants to equalize that for everyone.