Sophia Scott was meant to spend the summer as an intern shadowing doctors at the UCLA Concussion Clinic, as she had the year before. With COVID-19, the senior from Marymount High School had to put her plans on hold.
“Once everything fell through, I wanted to make sure I used my time as well as I could,” she explained to Angelus.
Instead of using the summer focusing on herself, the 17-year-old from Los Angeles set about trying to help others. Recognizing that distance learning has been tricky for many, Scott decided to use her God-given academic skills to do something for others.
In a matter of weeks she set up and launched Quaranteens, a free tutoring service that gathered together other like-minded teens to help out those needing an academic boost in various subjects to K-12 students.
Impressively, Scott didn’t sit around waiting for students in difficulty to reach out for help. She set up a website and actively offered her services to charities focused in education, appreciating that there were many pupils struggling with the distance learning experience.
“A lot of the students I’ve worked with felt their school year was essentially cut off last March, which absolutely would have a negative impact on the year ahead. So a lot of the work we did was trying to help them catch up,” the new tutor shared.
This scenario has been experienced around the world by many students, so the fact this caring teen sought to remedy the situation single-handedly makes her actions all the more inspiring.
The driving force behind her charitable efforts comes from her Catholic education. “My high school is part of a global network of schools, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, and their motto is ‘that all may have life, and have it to the full.'” Well, Scott wants all her students to have the same opportunity to lead a full life.
As her website states: “… I founded Quaranteens in order to provide free academic resources to help level the playing field for students from all backgrounds, especially those struggling due to coronavirus school closures.”
Now with lots of children back in school, Scott hasn’t finished her tutoring service. Instead the experience has encouraged her and her team, which now totals an impressive 16 tutors, to continue offering their help.
“What is most gratifying to me is knowing that something small I’m doing now, like helping a kid become more proficient at reading, could have such a wide ranging impact on their education in the future.”
While the coronavirus has caused so much damage in people’s lives, it’s wonderful to see how people like Sophia have risen to the challenge to help others in need. Of course, not all kids find their teenage years that easy — don’t give up, there’s still plenty of time for them to shine — but if you do have a teen that’s a little tricky from time to time, take a look at these tips below …
And today we celebrate...