What started as a simple recommendation from a family member has transformed into a life-changing experience. Lyliana, a Math Tutor in Caruthers, California, spends her days supporting fourth through eighth grade students, helping them make incredible strides developing their skills. Deep into her third year of tutoring, she has even started to set her sights on becoming a teacher herself.
Lyliana earned a business degree in college but decided to pivot after she unexpectedly moved home to help with some family matters. As she searched for her next career step, her brother – who was studying education at the time – suggested becoming a tutor. A school a few minutes away needed a Math Corps tutor. Lyliana applied and the pieces fell into place.
“I was kind of playing it by ear until I got this opportunity,” Lyliana says. “Then I fell in love with tutoring math, the kids, and the whole environment.”
As a Math Tutor, Lyliana has been conducting 30-minute tutoring sessions with groups of two to three students who need extra help building their skills. As someone who at first struggled with math before learning to enjoy it, she can relate to many students’ struggles. She uses that common ground to find ways to boost their confidence.
“I struggled with it in school until about freshman year of high school, and then something just clicked,” she explains. “If it clicked for me, it could click for these kids.”
And that’s exactly what has happened for dozens of her students! Math Corps students are twice as likely to achieve math fact fluency and end of year benchmarks. But it’s not just in the data that she has seen improvements; she watches her students make connections and excel every right before her eyes.
“I get to see what every kid was understanding as I tutor them,” Lyliana says. “That’s when it clicked for me that I was really making a difference. The way we can see their progress surprises me every time. It’s so cool.”
Lyliana has returned to Math Corps year after year because of her relationships with students, her fellow tutors, and the staff at her school. The community at her school has done an incredible job at fostering connection and support for each other.
“It’s the kids and my internal coach,” she says about coming back again and again. “We have a good group and a good setup where we communicate a lot and share the accomplishments together.”
Seeing her students make progress while building relationships with teachers has inspired Lyliana to start looking into what it would take for her to become an elementary school teacher! Since she already has a four-year degree, she hopes to earn a teaching credential in the next two years. And with the extra money for tuition and student loans she earns at the end of each service term, she’s well on the way towards that goal.
We can’t wait to see where Math Corps takes her in the future! If you’re looking for a way to launch a career in education, visit join.readingandmath.org to learn more and find an opening at a school near you!