Prateek Gowda has some advice for anyone tutoring an 8-year-old: Don’t underestimate the power of math games, Dr. Seuss books, and the occasional bag of spicy sweet chili Doritos chips. “You’ve got to make it fun,” advises the junior biomedical engineering major. “Never forget that they’re tired at end of a long school day.”
Gowda should know. For more than a year, he’s spent four hours a week working with an energetic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan through the Johns Hopkins Tutorial Project, which provides twice-weekly after-school tutoring to more than 100 area elementary school students.
“Tutoring is a way that I can have a positive impact on someone else’s life,” Gowda explains. “But it’s also just refreshing to work with kids, to hear what they are up to. They are fun and goofy. Being with them gives you a new perspective.”