Enthusiastic Young Tutors Offer Great Academic Learning, Digitally

Among the many things we’ve grown used to is that everything happens in that chair you’re sitting in right now. From work to meals to school, you’re likely not getting up anytime soon.

It’s the perfect spot and situation for online tutoring as well.

Zihao Wang, a junior at San Marino High School, saw the opportunity back in May and immediately set about gathering up a team of tutors to create their online tutoring company, called Vertex Tutors.

The group currently concentrates on elementary and middle schoolers. The tutors are all current juniors or seniors from different local high schools, said Wang, including San Marino High and Arcadia High School.

Wang is clear and eager about his mission.

“I really want to help high school students learn leadership and pass on their knowledge to the younger generation,” he told Pasadena Now recently, “and then develop their sense of responsibility as well.”

“Tutors can’t be late to a lesson, for example,” he said. “And they can’t cancel two minutes before the lesson. It’s this responsibility that they’re developing as well.”

Tutoring also involves the added responsibility of holding a student’s attention for a whole hour, notes Wang.

“There are certain leadership and responsibility aspects of it,” he said. “Earning some side money and learning responsibility and leadership at the same time is just a great way to spend this period.”

Naturally, the company uses Zoom software to tutor students in a variety of different subjects.

Vertex tutors offer tutoring in math and science classes, including biology, chemistry, and physics. There are also English classes, as well as world language classes, with tutors teaching Japanese, Spanish, and Chinese Mandarin.

Along with those usual academic subjects, the company even offers speech and debate training.

Wang himself is a speech and debate student, having participated for nearly five years.

“There’s a lot of news going on,” and currently outside there’s a lot of news like school closures, the coronavirus, the protests, and maybe even the voting later on in November. Plenty of material for debates, says Wang.

Finding his own inner entrepreneur early in life, Wang says, “I really want to be an entrepreneur one day, specifically in the tech industry.” He cites Tesla boss Elon Musk as one of his role models.

Wang is also interested in computer science and is currently doing research with a Caltech professor on machine learning.

“I like the entrepreneurial spirit of business people,” he says. “That really interests me. I really want to be able to combine computer science and entrepreneurship as my future career.”

Wang says the “the overarching theme” of Vertex Tutors is to foster great academic learning, digitally, where “everybody can still have this amazing experience in the comfort of their home.”

More information about Vertex Tutors is available at www.vertex-tutors.com. (626) 616-0783.