Brevard County student starts nonprofit tutoring service to create equal educational opportunities

THE NEXT GENERATION. IN THIS WEEK’S COMMUNITY CHAMPION KNOWS THAT BETTER THAN ANYONE. AND MEET THE BREVARD COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLER WHO’S INTRODUCING A LOVE OF MATH AND NUMBERS TO AS MANY FELLOW STUDENTS AS HE CAN. IRON A MOMMY. IF YOU WOULD PLEASE COME. A TRUE SURPRISE FOR OUR WESH TWO COMMUNITY CHAMPION WHEN HE WAS RECOGNIZED BY ONE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS. HE WORKS WITH, HE THOUGHT THIS WAS JUST A ROUTINE AWARD CEREMONY FOR THE SCHOOL, BUT I KNOW THAT HE IS ABSOLUTELY NOT EXPECTING THIS IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM. AND HE IS TRULY ONE OF THE MOST HUMBLE YOUNG PEOPLE I HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF GETTING TO KNOW. AYANA. MOMMY HASN’T EVEN GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL YET, BUT HE’S THE FOUNDER OF A NONPROFIT DEDICATED TO CREATING EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES IN BREVARD COUNTY BY PROVIDING TUTORING AT SELECT SCHOOLS. I USED TO WORK AT A LOCAL TUTORING COMPANY HERE FROM NINTH GRADE TO THE MIDDLE OF JUNIOR YEAR. I RESIGNED BECAUSE I SAW TIME AFTER TIME STUDENTS COMING INTO THAT PROGRAM WHO WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO AFFORD IT AND BE ABLE TO GET ACCESS TO THESE RESOURCES. JUST TAKE IT FOR GRANTED SOMETIMES. AND THAT’S WHEN HE REGISTERED HIS NEW 500 AND 1C3 MATH MINDS FOCUSED ON THOSE SCHOOLS THAT NEED A LITTLE MORE HELP. THESE STUDENTS WANT THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN. THEY WANT THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE, UM, THESE RESOURCES. BUT THEY SIMPLY JUST DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO IT. AND IT BREAKS MY HEART TO SEE THAT YOU HAVE TO REALLY LOVE THIS PROFESSION, TO STAY IN IT FOR A LONG TIME. AND HE’S STARTING SO YOUNG AND HE CARES SO MUCH. AND IT’S IT’S INCREDIBLE. HE IS THE SOLITARY MAN BEHIND THE NONPROFIT FOR NOW. BUT IMAM SAYS THIS LABOR OF LOVE COMES EASY. THE PASSION COMES OUT WHEN THE STUDENT FINALLY UNDERSTANDS A TOPIC THAT THEY HAVE BEEN REALLY STRUGGLING IN. AND I DO BELIEVE THAT THAT LIKE, OH, MOMENT THAT WHEN THEY FINALLY UNDERSTAND AND IS WORTH MORE THAN ANY PAYCHECK THAT I’VE EVER RECEIVED FROM MY OLD JOB. SO LET’S LOOK AT THIS PROBLEM. A BUS IS TRAVELING AT A CONSTANT SPEED ALONG A STRAIGHT PORTION OF ROAD, AND SURE ENOUGH, HIS PATIENCE SHINES THROUGH EVEN WITH THOSE WHO MAY BE LESS MATH INCLINED. DO YOU HAVE THE SAME PROPENSITY FOR MATH AS HE DOES? NOPE, I DON’T, I THINK IT COMES FROM HIS DAD. YEAH. HAS HE EVER TRIED TO TEACH YOU, UM. UM, NO. NO. BE A VERY PROUD. PROUD OF HIM FOR DOING WHAT HE’S DOING. AND HE HE, UM, WAS EXCITED, AND I’M GLAD THAT HE’S DOING WHAT HE’S DOING RIGHT NOW. AND DIANE IS JUST GETTING STARTED, HOPING TO EXPAND HIS TUTORING. THIS SUMMER ACROSS VARIOUS SCHOOLS. HE’S ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS TO HELP HIM REACH AS MANY KIDS AS HE CAN. WHAT A PROFOUND TEACHER I DON’T KNOW THAT THAT WAS. THAT’S WHERE HE’S HEADING IN HIS CAREER, BUT HE WOULD BE A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL TEACHER, RIGHT? UM, JUST VERY, UH, DOWN TO EARTH WITH OUR STUDENTS. HE’S ABLE TO RELATE TO THEM VERY WELL AS HE DELIVERS THE MATH CONTENT AND I COULDN’T BE MORE GRATEFUL. A WORTHY CELEBRATION FOR OUR WESH TWO COMMUNITY CHAMPION AND AYANA MOM IS JOINING US NOW IN STUDIO I ON. GOOD MORNING. THANKS FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. HOW ARE YOU? I’M DOING GREAT. I KNOW THANK YOU FOR SQUEEZING US IN TODAY BECAUSE YOU’VE GOT AN AP EXAM LATER TODAY. YEAH. WHAT IS IT? ONE LAST ONE. OKAY. WELL THAT’S GOOD. WHAT IS IT LIKE JUGGLING YOUR OWN SCHOOLWORK WITH THE PROCESS OF HELPING OTHERS? IT’S. IT’S NOT THAT BAD. ACTUALLY. I ENJOY DOING IT. IT’S I, I LIKE SCHOOL, AND I ALSO LIKE HELPING OTHERS. I MEAN, IT’S IT’S NOT THAT BAD FOR ME. IT’S SOMETHING I ENJOY. WELL, THE PASSION COMES THROUGH VERY CLEAR FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT AS PASSIONATE ABOUT MATH, HOW DO YOU SORT OF GET THEM OVER THAT HUMP? SO SO I THINK YOU JUST HAVE TO REASON WITH THEM AND GO DOWN TO THEM AND JUST TELL THEM THAT THIS IS IMPORTANT AND THIS WILL HELP YOU IN THE FUTURE. AND ONCE THEY REALIZE THAT THEY ARE MORE ON BOARD THAN YOU WOULD THINK, OKAY. ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT I DID WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS MORNING IS THE SUMMER PROGRAM THAT YOU ARE LAUNCHING. YOU’VE BEEN WORKING WITH THREE SCHOOLS OVER THE PAST SCHOOL YEAR. HOW ARE YOU EXPANDING THAT THIS SUMMER? SO WITH THE HELP OF THE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, THEY HAVE GOT INVOLVED THREE MORE SCHOOLS. SO IN THE SUMMER STARTING JUNE 3RD, THERE WILL BE A SIX SCHOOLS INVOLVED INTO THE SUMMER PROGRAM. IT’S A FOUR WEEK PROGRAM. SO ONE IN JUNE, ONE IN JULY. THEY’LL TAKE US THROUGH THE WHOLE SUMMER AND IT’S ACT PREP BECAUSE THERE’S AN ACT TEST COMING UP ON, I THINK, JUNE 13TH. OKAY, SO THE FIRST TWO THREE FOR THE FIRST TWO WEEKS WILL BE STRICTLY ACT FOR THEIR JUNIORS AND JUST TRY AND HELPING THEM OUT. AND YOUR WORK SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. I KNOW YOU GOT SOME REALLY GOOD NEWS YESTERDAY ABOUT SOME OF THE STUDENTS THAT YOU’VE BEEN WORKING WITH OVER THE PAST YEAR, SO I HEARD FROM THE TEACHER I’M WORKING UNDER OUT ONE OF THE SCHOOLS THAT OUT OF THE TEN STUDENTS THAT CONSISTENTLY CAME THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER, ONLY ONE OF THEM DID NOT PASS THEIR STATE EXAM TO GRADUATE. SO THAT’S BIG BECAUSE NOW THEIR SENIORS CAN WALK ACROSS THE STAGE WITH A DIPLOMA. YEAH, YEAH. THAT’S HUGE. YOU ARE MAKING SUCH AN IMPACT. I MEAN, WE’VE BEEN HEARING IT FROM SO MANY PEOPLE AS WELL THIS SUMMER. DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW MANY STUDENTS YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO HELP? NOT A ROUGH IDEA BUT THERE’S TEN AT ONE SCHOOL. SO IF YOU MULTIPLY THAT BY SIX, THAT’S AROUND 60 STUDENTS. IT’S A BIG IMPACT. HOW ARE YOU BEEFING UP STAFF RIGHT NOW? IT’S JUST YOU. I’M I’M ON THE LOOKOUT WITH MY OWN SCHOOL. THERE ARE SOME STUDENTS THAT ARE WILLING TO HELP ME, AND I APPRECIATE THEM GREATLY. UM, IT’S IT’S IN THE PROCESS. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT MATH? ABOUT NUMBERS? IF THEY FIND IT PARTICULARLY HARD? OBVIOUSLY, YOU SAW HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS FOR ME WHEN WE WERE DOING A LITTLE PRACTICE TUTORING SESSION. I THINK THAT THERE’S ALWAYS ANOTHER WAY TO SOLVE A PROBLEM. RIGHT? SO WHEN A TEACHER TEACHES A STUDENT, AT FIRST THEY DON’T THEY MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND IT. BUT WHEN ANOTHER PEER STUDENT TEACHES THE SAME THING IN A DIFFERENT WAY, IT SUDDENLY CLICKS FOR THEM. AND I THINK THAT’S THAT’S SOMETHING I’VE ALWAYS BELIEVED IN. YEAH. YOU DO A GREAT JOB, AYAN. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVORS. THANKS FOR JOINING US HER