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WHS Students to Participate in Innovate WithIN State Finals with “Tutor Us”
Screenwriter / Aimee MacArthur
Photograph provided
When Westfield High School junior Liam Lloyd moved to Westfield, he wanted to improve his English. “I come from Mexico,” he says. “It’s actually my first year here. When I came here, my English was very basic. I was taking English lessons. It was very difficult for me to follow everything. »
Lloyd checked out tutoring options at Westfield High School. “I heard about a tutors club, went there and asked for help,” he says. “It took about two weeks for them to give me a real session with a tutor who would help me.
At that moment, Lloyd had an idea. “I just thought it was a very complicated process and it was‘t very effective,” he says. “I had an idea that makes the process much easier – that helps these students find tutors. »
Lloyd and sophomore Alexa Jimenez pitched the idea of a tutor application to their entrepreneurship teacher, John Moore, who encouraged them from the start.
“He‘s been with us the whole way,” says Jimenez.
Jimenez and Lloyd developed their business idea, an app called Tutor Us, in their entrepreneurship class. “We started more in our entrepreneurship class,” says Jimenez. “This‘This is where we started our business and then Mr. Moore told us to join the Westfield High School Shark Tank Club as he thought our project had a lot of potential.
Joining the Shark Tank Club was a positive experience. “You talk about your business ideas,” says Jimenez. “Everyone has their opinion on it.
Tutor Us won first place in the Innovate WithIN Regional 4 competition. Innovate WithIN is a prestigious high school pitch competition. Jimenez and Lloyd are competing in the Innovate WithIN State Finals on June 10 for a chance to win $25,000 each. The prize money is a combination of seed funding, scholarships, and business travel experience.
Jimenez and Lloyd are proud of Tutor Us and believe it will help students.
“This‘It’s an app that works in secondary education systems,” says Lloyd. “The tutors are other students from the same high school.
“A student can access the app and search for courses they need help with,” Jimenez adds.
Tutor Us saves time by allowing students to find a tutor through a quick and seamless process, and to find and schedule lessons themselves.
Jimenez and Lloyd have a team working on developing and finalizing the app.
“It will include what class you want the person to be in, their gender, and what classes you‘I need help,” says Jimenez. “After clicking search, a group of people belonging to the National Honor Society club will appear, and then you can choose your guardian.
Tutor Us is free for students, and tutors earn credit for their hours of service from the National Honor Society. Interested schools will pay for the application on an annual basis. Tutor Us will be available to students and schools this fall.
The Innovate WithIN State Finals Competition will be held June 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Butler University’s Shelton Auditorium, located at 1000 West 42nd Street in Indianapolis. It is also possible to watch the contest on the Innovate WithIN Facebook page. For more information, visit innovatewithin.org.
Westfield High School students interested in joining the Shark Tank Club can contact Moore at [email protected]
Since writing this story, Alexa has left the Tutor Us team. Liam Lloyd said, “Alexa was a great partner and that’s one of the main reasons we’ve been so successful. Now I prepare to play an even bigger role in this project and wish her the best in all she does.
