CREATE tutoring is a free learning platform. The organization and its creators are to help children across the United States to get access to the educational help they need and deserve. In this article, I got to ask some questions to one of the co-founders, to get to know her and her creation. It is also a great opportunity to share it with the world, so it can not only inspire others but make this organization reach different levels.
CREATE was founded by Lalitha Gunturi and Jasmine Garry, who met during a gifted and talented program in their school district when they were in fourth grade.
Lalitha and Jasmine are both aspiring computer science students. They both think that the fact that they both know and are eager to learn more about coding helps them plan tech-related workshops in their community.
This all began in the early stages of the covid pandemic when they noticed some struggles of the younger students when switching to virtual learning. “We noticed an issue in our community and decided to make a change and make an impact”, Lalitha says.
CREATE was launched in March 2021. If they felt nervous, it didn’t show, because they knew that what they were doing was for the greater good. “Knowing that you are helping young students everywhere, is one of our biggest motivations”. From the moment they started, they had kids instantly signing up, which helped them build their tutee and volunteer tutor bases. That just helps to boost confidence in the project, knowing that what they are doing can and is helping those who need it.
After this long introduction that was needed, CREATE Tutoring is a virtual platform/program where high school students volunteer their time to help younger students with homework and so much more. “Our mission is to help students create a brighter academic future for themselves by fostering healthy study habits, learning accelerated educational content, exploring personal interests through workshops, and overall finding an engaging relationship with education. We want them to feel confident and supported in their educational journey.
We also strive to help make sure all students have equal access to our program and would love to help close education gaps in our communities. We are currently working on two events, Empowering Girls in Stem and a Web Development Workshop”, Lalitha explains.
CREATE has mainly been a team effort of Lalitha and Jasmine with help from all their volunteer tutors, which just keeps increasing every day. Lalitha admits that they “have spent countless hours working to put together our business/organization. As I am still young, I have learned so much about running an organization”.
Lalitha and Jasmine hope that in the future, CREATE will still be able to offer free tutoring for all subjects. While still focusing on technology and coding activities, since that is their passion. This includes hosting events that highlight topics like coding, STEM, technology, block coding, etc.
There are two projects in the future, so make sure to keep your eyes on these two promising young ladies. They are planning on having two workshops in June, that focus on Empowering Girls in STEM and Intro to Web Development. “I am especially excited about the Girls in Stem event because I love supporting and motivating young girls to thrive in a male-dominated field. I hope to help young girls around me embrace technology and realize its potential to change the world!”, Lalitha admits.
In just over a year, CREATE has tutored over 1500 lessons, 2000 hours of tutoring, 2 summer workshops, hosted numerous events and has built a volunteer tutor network across the country. That, for two girls that are not even in college yet, makes everyone incredulous and makes me admire them.
Being around the same age as these girls, makes me feel like I am behind in life. Although no one should feel like that, it is impossible not to recognize this girl's passion, hard work and amazing job at doing something to change the world. As mentioned in the beginning, I hope this article can get the recognition of the co-creators of this project, so they can help more people and continue with their amazing ideas.
