Junior Brian Xu founded “Students Tutor Students,” a free, online tutoring service to high school students in the Portland area. 

The service matches up student tutors and tutees based on subject and availability. Currently, the program is in the development stage, as Xu is compiling a list of student tutors/tutees who would work well together. 

“Interested tutors and people who are being tutored can sign up to help through a form that we have created. Overall, it’s an opportunity for people across the city to connect and educate each other in the midst of this crisis,” Xu said. 

Xu, along with junior Devansh Khunteta, are working to create a website for the program, as well as social media platforms. 

“Our long term future plans are lofty, but we believe that they’ll be achievable. We envision phasing the service onto an app so that people can create tutor and tutee accounts and be matched through the app, kind of like tinder, but for tutoring,” Xu said. “It will really help make it easier for a lot of people to have everything ready and accessible in the palm of their hand.”

Khunteta is  the technical director for Students Tutor Students, in charge of creating the forms for both tutors and tutees, as well as creating and maintaining the website. 

“Although at Jesuit we are given the resources to have programs such as NHS, not all students at other schools are given this same opportunity to have face to face interaction with tutors and teachers through mediums like Zoom,” Khunteta said. “However, by implementing a program such as Students Tutor Students, students from all different schools will be able to work together to grow academically. As a healthy byproduct, this program will also give students the opportunity to meet new people that they otherwise may not have met during quarantine.”

Khunteta and Xu both founded the chapter of “Junior State of America” at Jesuit, indicating their interest and involvement in politics. Through these experiences and focus on politics, Xu has grown to “naturally gain an awareness” on global issues, as well as issues in the Jesuit community. 

“When this crisis hit, and schooling turned online, my mind was on those who would be most adversely affected,” Xu said. “Teachers would be overwhelmed quickly as they become less accessible than before without face to face contact, and getting personal help in school for a lot of students would become even more difficult than it already is. After surveying my friends and seeing that many were like me and wanted to help out during these difficult times, I realized that this was a perfect opportunity for those students who want to get involved in their communities to help their peers through online tutoring.”

With Xu’s personal prior experience in tutoring, as well as organizational skills and passion for politics, Xu created a way to grow one-on-one interactions, such as tutoring, to a larger-scale movement, striving to help students across Portland maintain connections and an adequate education. 

“One of my biggest beliefs is that education is a great equalizer: that if everyone has access to adequate education, then everyone will have the power to take their lives into their own hands and achieve what they want to achieve,” Xu said. “The importance of education is undeniable in my eyes.”