Quite a few students at FHN tutor their friends at school already. They put their tutoring skills to use by getting jobs at Kumon, making their skills an occupation as a Kumon instructor. Kumon is a tutoring center for adolescents aged from three to 18. They specifically teach and help out in math and reading. The company is worldwide and originated in Japan. The system works by having the students complete assignments to learn, and then, eventually, they have to test and get graded by their instructors. One current instructor, senior Madeline Fields, has been working there for almost a year.

“It doesn’t only benefit me,” Fields said. “It helps me keep up to date on my math skills. Working there even helps me work and communicate with kids better. I really like the hours because I’m busy and it’s a consistent schedule.”

Some FHN alumni worked there during the school year and over the summer. Jose Alega, an FHN graduate in 2016, worked there from his second semester of sophomore year until the end of high school. His role at Kumon was to grade papers and help students finish their work.

“My favorite part about working at Kumon was probably whenever I would help one of the students, and when I explained something and they would get it right,” Alega said. “It was really cute and amazing to watch. I worked there for about a year and a half, and I loved it.”

Kyra Peper, another FHN graduate in 2016, also started working her second semester of her sophomore year and stopped working there before she left for college. Kumon is open on only Mondays and Thursdays, but if assignments and tests need to be graded, instructors either stay after hours or come in on off days to help.

“I was very happy that I decided to start working there,” Peper said. “It was a really great experience and I couldn’t imagine a better first job. My coworkers were nice and my boss was amazing, it was an overall amazing experience. It did benefit me because whenever I started working there I was shy and timid, and it really branched me out. I had to talk to the parents and work with kids, and it helped me be more organized because I had to do a lot of organizational stuff.”