In the midst of virtual learning, help is here to minimize the stress of a heavy workload. Sophomores Peter Moody and Joseph Mintz are starting a volunteer tutoring company, 2M Tutoring, at the start of the second semester.

In search of a new way to do more for his community and peers, Moody was inspired by his past experience in tutoring and wanted to expand his reach beyond just his friends.

“Tutoring and helping others is very gratifying. I think we generally tend to focus on ourselves a lot in high school because of all the work that we have and everything that’s going on around us. We can become a little bit self-absorbed, and I think it’s important that we take a step back and try to do something to help other people who maybe aren’t doing as well as we are,” Moody said.

Despite the members consisting of RUHS students, 2M Tutoring is run independently from the school. Moody and Mintz want students to see the company as a place where they have the opportunity to ask questions without the fear or anxiety of talking to a teacher.

“For some students, asking for help from a teacher can be kind of daunting. I think that if people see that the company is associated with the school, they’ll think that the teachers are somehow involved, and that can be a deterrent. If kids need tutoring but they don’t feel comfortable reaching out to teachers, they can come to us instead,” Mintz said.

In addition to being able to help the students, Moody and Mintz want their company to be beneficial to the tutors as well. Currently, the tutors are all sophomores that the two know from their classes, but any high school student can contact them if they want to be a tutor.

“Being able to help the tutors by providing them with the opportunity to experience a teaching environment in addition to hearing kids talk about doing well or improving in school because they came to us will be really rewarding,” the two said.

The goal for 2M Tutoring is to expand both the grade levels they help and the teaching methods they use.

“We don’t expect to limit this to just one-on-one tutoring. Right now, future ideas we have include holding lectures or having people come and speak on different topics,” Mintz said. “So this is really an evolving idea, and it’s like a living, breathing organization for us.”