Bachelor Honours Political Science grad tutors high school/uni students in essay writing

Background

Over the past five years, I have spent countless hours working as a volunteer with multiple service and mentorship organizations dedicated to working with and educating high school aged students, such as the Oregon Young Scholars Program, PeaceJam International, and Alternative Breaks. Through this period I have dedicated myself to educating young people about issues of inequality by facilitating conversations centered on understanding oppression and privilege. As an example, in my work as an advisor through the Oregon Young Scholar’s Program (OYSP), a college-preparatory program for low-income students-of-color, I worked as an academic advisor and tutor to a cohort of 40 students each summer for an intensive one-week academic camp, and bi-weekly throughout the remainder of the school year. I tutored students on writing and study skills, and provided academic support for my students on subjects that ranged from English to Molecular Biology to Algebra. I helped my students envisage themselves as college graduates by listening to their experiences, validating their struggles, and providing historical and social context as motivation to continue working in an academic system that at times can feel as if it is weighted against them. In this way, my approach to students is not hierarchical, but rather is relationship-centric. Through conversation and support, I work to inspire young people to pursue education because they see it as an extension of their lived experiences.