The Life Changing Experience in Working at A+

Grew up in a small rural village in China, the last thing I can ever dream of was coming to Big Apple. “ I saw snow for the first time! I just saw the Central Park in real life!” the first few days after I first landed in J.F.K were filled with excitement and curiosity, I explored the city with all my passion, hoping to learn every last detail about it. However, things went downhill after I started school; where I realized that I was an outlier in the class. I speak no English, I don’t know any pop cultures or references. Whenever a student says a joke and whole class burst into laughter, I would laugh along despite the fact that I don’t even comprehend the joke.

This sense of out-of-place stuck to me all the way through elementary and middle school. I thought that it would go away as I became fluent in English and familiarized myself with cultural references. But it glued to me and slowly turn into my insecurity.

However, I reached the turning corner of my life after I started to work at A+, a tutoring school. To be honest, I wasn’t good at it at first. I was awkward and clueless. Whenever a teacher or student asked me a question, I would always respond it with “um.. I’m not sure.” When an angry parent stormed into the school, holding a C+ report card in front of my face, yelling why her kid didn’t improve I would just freeze and give puppy eyes to my coworkers, hoping one of them will jump in and save me.

I thought that maybe I was not cut out for this. But at the same time, I wanted to prove to other people that I could handle challenges. Therefore, I started to ask my coworkers for advice on how to deal with different situations. I observed them handling a kid who was crying during the school, and I secretly memorized it in my heart, telling myself this is what I should do. “Why’s my kid doing badly in English?” I learn to answer these types of questions by discussing with the parents the student’s work ethic, study skill, and assure the parent that I will offer extra help to the students instead of just handing over the phone to someone else.

I would be lying if I said this work is not frustrating. Sometimes I explain a math concept to the same student for the 10th time but he would still look confused. Sometimes a kid with a nosebleed would walk in front of me, pinching her nose and asking me what she should do when I have an office packed with students and parents waiting to talk to someone. But it’s worth it. It is worth it when the student has the “ahh” face after I tried 3 different approaches to explain the concept, and the next time I check the record, his math score increased from a 50 to a 70. It is worth it after I talk to different people, and the office is empty again. The student then walks in front of me, hands me the towel that I wet and put on her forehead, says to me “Thank you, miss”. And the next thing you know, she began smiling and waving at me everytime she walks in and out of the school. It is little things like a paper crane with thank you wrote on that tells me what I do is appreciated.

A+ offers me a place to grow as an individual and discover my passion. I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be who I am now without this experience. I learned the importance of community service and it shaped me into a mature and patient person, and it gives a niche that I am searching for my whole life.