The most rewarding thing in life for me is to help others and Breakthrough provides excellent opportunities for me to do that…There’s no better feeling than to coach someone through a difficult situation or homework problem and see them come out on top.
Justin has been a Breakthrough Volunteer since 2016 and is currently volunteering as a biology tutor at Manor High School
What brought you to Breakthrough? How long have you been involved with Breakthrough? I was connected to Breakthrough through a classmate’s friend, who was a Breakthrough volunteer at the time and was accepted into a medical school in Virginia. At that time, I was looking to become a volunteer to gain more experience as a leader in pursuit of medical school, so I connected with Elvira and I’m so glad I did! I have been involved with Breakthrough since July of 2016.
Why do you like volunteering for Breakthrough? The most rewarding thing in life for me is to help others and Breakthrough provides excellent opportunities for me to do that.
What volunteer roles have you been involved in? Describe your experience. With Breakthrough, I have been involved in tutoring math and biology. I’ve also been involved as a high school application coach as well as a college application coach. The employees at Breakthrough are all so positive, friendly, and helpful which makes for an awesome overall experience. The students that I’ve helped over the years have been hard working and eager to learn which always makes teaching/coaching a pleasure.
Can you describe a volunteer moment that you felt you were making a difference? One volunteer moment that I felt I was making a difference was when I tutored a student in high school Biology recently. This student said she was having a difficult time following her teacher’s lectures and understanding the concepts. I was so amazed at her desire to truly grasp Biology. At the end of an hour-long session with her, a Breakthrough employee walked into our tutoring room and my student enthusiastically said to this employee, “He’s cool!”. Later than night I was told by this same Breakthrough employee that my student had later said, “I like him because he knows how to teach.” When I heard these things, I felt that I was making a difference in this particular student’s life.