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My name is Hunter Kenneth Griswold, and I am the leader and creator of the Future Generations Now Peer Tutoring Program, as well as an FGNow Ambassador. I started this program in July 2020 to connect high-school students with underserved middle school students, and to help guide them in their journey to academic success. My vision was for this program to build a relationship between the students at Harvard Westlake High School and Vista Charter Middle School. I contacted a group of 15 excited friends who were looking for ways to serve their community during these trying times caused by COVID-19. Then, I began the process of “matching” them to students in need of tutoring who also had similar interests. 

Initially, it was very difficult for tutors and students to meet over Zoom during the summer. Students had no reason to look at their school emails while on break! However, with the new school year starting in late August, tutors and students were able to meet over Zoom and begin working together. All sessions are an hour long and cover the student’s homework, exams, and key materials in Math and English to be encountered during the school year. With this approach, students are prepared for upcoming tests, thanks to the student’s pro-activeness, the skillset of the tutor, and the resources of KhanAcademy. Currently, The FGNow Tutoring program has enrolled the help of 25 tutors (from grades 10 and 11) from Harvard Westlake and Chadwick. In the near future, we are looking to extend volunteer opportunities to students from Buckley School and The Archer School for Girls.

Even during this pandemic - where many programs are struggling - our program is continuing to thrive and grow with the addition of new students in need of tutoring every week! Our aim is to help as many students as possible, using the gift of our private education as a shared resource. Not only does this program look to improve upon the student’s education, but it also looks to build a sense of camaraderie between participants. This is why we pair individuals based on interests, and start our sessions with 5 minutes of casual conversation and chit-chat about our daily lives. I believe it is important to have the relationships between tutor and student to be more like a friendship, so that sessions are an event they both look forward to. 

Although we are still a small operation, I hope more of my peers will share the same instinct to volunteer, allowing us to help more students in need of academic aid through the FGNow Tutoring Program. I am so happy with the base we have built so far, as it truly encapsulates the goals of Future Generations Now as a community-centric nonprofit organization. We are essentially a network that looks to better the world through advocacy and activism, and I’m proud of the platform we’ve created for schools and future tutors to help those in academic need.