Volunteer stories: Meet Hazal, our most prolific volunteer!

Having taught with us for hundreds of volunteer hours (across fifteen different students!), Hazal is a familiar face at the Tutorfair Foundation - and our most prolific volunteer. We’re incredibly grateful to Hazal for all the time and effort she’s put in to help so many of the young people that come through our doors. We asked her about her experiences with the Tutorfair Foundation….

Tell us a bit about who you are and what you do

I am a full-time private English tutor and educational consultant based in West London, with a decade’s experience in education. I specialise in teaching English to all age groups from primary all the way up to degree level and assisting students with school and university admissions.

What made you decide to start volunteering with Tutorfair Foundation? Had you done any volunteering before?

With the uncertainty surrounding exams and the general climate that encompassed us during lockdown, tuition opportunities were scarce, and I needed an outlet for my passion as an educator. I sought Tutorfair Foundation as I knew there were many children in need, completely lacking any educational resources, and I wanted to give them that security.

I fully immersed myself in the opportunities Tutorfair Foundation had to offer because it resonated with my past volunteering experience with a women’s organisation in Cyprus. At that time, I was supporting classes of up to thirty students (teenagers and adults) in isolated villages. It was heart-warming helping them take their first steps into the English language, and this experience paralleled the rewards I felt from my contribution to Tutorfair Foundation.

Did you make a conscious decision to commit so much time to our programmes? Or did one thing just lead to another?

I did not have a particular goal in mind at the beginning: I just accepted students as I would with any agency, allocating the same attention and commitment.

After working a couple of months with several students, I was assigned a role where I worked very closely with a 9-year-old boy who was transitioning between schools. He had a stubborn opposition to English, so I took it as a challenge to see whether I could change his spirits. I believe I achieved more with him than I have with any other student in my career: he won a scholarship, published a book, and appeared on national media to raise funds for charitable causes. I am truly grateful to Tutorfair Foundation for setting up this opportunity, and my time was no object to pursuing this accomplishment.

What motivates you to keep volunteering with us over such a long period?

My sole motivation is to know that each generation bears a promise of a better future through mediators such as teachers. Any contribution I can make to the development of a young individual fills my heart with hope and optimism.

Beyond the progress of your students, what benefits do you think you’ve taken from the experience?

My job as a private tutor, in itself, serves the premises of the middle and upper classes. With volunteer tutoring, however, we can ensure that students from all backgrounds, independent of their social circumstances, can equally have ample access to quality education.

Growing up, I learnt that not only the geography we are born in but also money and mental health influence our life trajectory. It is unfortunate but inevitable that these factors also impact one’s learning environment. I see volunteer tutoring as a means of overthrowing this disproportion and providing support for all. I experienced in my student years that teachers can play an incredible role in helping an individual mould their future and achieve the life they aim for. Education extends beyond a basic right, and it is paramount that quality teaching is a privilege not only reserved for the wealthy.

Ultimately, with Tutorfair Foundation, volunteer tutors ensure that everyone has a chance to transcend their circumstances.

Anything else you’d like to say?

My belief is that volunteer tutoring should be treated as an investment in an individual. With time and devotion, a great difference can be made in students, even those who are initially unengaged. I would highly encourage tutors to allocate regular support to students who would otherwise miss an academic opportunity due to a lack of resources.

If you’d like to volunteer with the Tutorfair Foundation, we’d love to hear from you! Please do get in touch or sign up below.