Aspire and Achieve
Over the past year, I have been helped
by all types of people, but the individuals under Aspire and Achieve are by far
the best. It was more than just the work that we did, we made a great
connection with one another. I felt as if I know them on a different level.
They really cared about helping me with my work and making sure that I
understood everything that I did.
Max Shapiro, who was my Math
tutor with Aspire and Achieve, would spend many hours of his time on weekends,
on the phone with me and on Skype helping me to understand math. Math had
become one of my worst subjects, but recently I have gotten so much
better at it. Working with Max is great, he is a great teacher, also he is very
patient and takes his time when he is working with me.
Thomas Demerath, who is my
English tutor with Aspire and Achieve, I feel like I made the foremost
connection with, helped me study for my EPT test. He showed me how to write a
whole essay from just a few lines. That was one of my biggest challenges, I
didn’t know how to expand my thoughts. I was able to improve my writing skills
so much, I learned how to correct my punctuation, and I can write essays
better. My teacher began to notice. It got to the point that she thought that I
had been cheating, but then I had to show her that I was the one doing the
work.
Aspire and Achieve did more for me then
just tutoring, for example things that impacted my whole education. They help
me with fees to go up to Sonoma to take a mandatory test that I needed
for college. If they did not help me, It would have been hard for me to
make my way there. They were able to help me with my fees for my trip to New
York with the African American Male Achievement Student Leadership Council. I
wouldn’t have been able to get around or pay for food while I was out there
without them.
The biggest difference was that I felt as if
they really took helping me seriously, also I felt as if it wasn't just for a
paycheck the feeling was that they actually cared about my education. You could
tell more and more each time that we worked together. I greatly appreciate
everything that they have done for me and I can say that they made a huge
impact on my life.
Rickey Jackson
