For many students, AVID is a program that supports academic growth and college readiness, strengthened by tutors who play a key role in students’ success. These tutors help guide students through challenges, helping them prepare for their future. One of those tutors once sat in the same seats as the students she now guides.
Before becoming a tutor, Riley Tanaka was an AVID student throughout her entire high school career. Her experience in the program is what inspired her to take on the role of tutor and help students the same way she was once helped.
“I took AVID for four years at this exact high school,” Tanaka said. “AVID taught me about scholarships, applying for housing and what universities had to offer me. AVID gave me a better impression of what life was going to be like after high school than a normal high school would’ve.”
Through these experiences, the large amount of support she received from the program motivated her to return and help guide the current AVID students through the same process. Tanaka isn’t just there to help guide students with their daily assignments; she also makes sure every student in AVID is staying on track with daily checks.
“I come in, do checks on notes, agendas or organizational checks depending on the day,” Tanaka said. “I check everyone’s and see what they’ve completed.”
Although these responsibilities may seem simple, being an AVID tutor is more than just checking students’ notes: it is seeing the students’ progress in AVID. As freshmen are getting a hang of understanding how the AVID process works, Tanaka can see the clear growth in students who have spent more time in the program.
“The seniors or juniors who have taken AVID, you can see the improvement: They are more organized than you expect for a typical high school student,” Tanaka said.
As Tanaka continues to take this role, she realizes how tutoring others has impacted her experience and perspective. Being an AVID tutor has not only benefited the students but has also given Tanaka a different perspective. Her journey from student to tutor has shown how the impact of AVID extends beyond the classroom. Through tutoring, she continues the cycle of support that once helped shape her own journey.
“I have gotten an idea with kids,” Tanaka said. “When I myself was a student, I didn’t really know what I was like from an outside perspective, but working as a tutor, I have realized how the tutor saw me. I’m realizing how different everyone is. That’s how tutoring others has changed me.”
