Meet Walta
Walta Nemariam
Junior Class Instructor
Meet our incredible volunteer, Walta Nemariam! Walta has been an instructor for the past 5 years. She first joined MMSF in 2017 for verbal instruction. A year later, she transitioned to become a math instructor and has been in this role ever since! MMSF offers weekly on-site standardized test prep and skills-based curriculum from instructors with a 1:3 instructor-student ratio. Walta and our other volunteer instructors spend two hours every week teaching students skills that result in measurable improvement on their SAT & ACT results.
What Are Your Relationships Like With the Students You Work With? What Goes on During the Saturday Sessions With the Students You Work With? We typically spend the first few minutes of the session catching up with the students, talking about our high/lows of the week and highlighting the focus areas for the lesson which range from geometry, algebra, functions, word problems, etc. I try to make things as collaborative as possible so I'll have the students walk the class through various practice problems and keep them engaged throughout session. They spend about an hour with me and my co-instructor doing math before switching over to do verbal for the second hour.
What Is Your Favorite Part of Minds Matter? The community and connecting with the mentees and the volunteers. Everyone I've met through MMSF is so passionate about helping and supporting the students.
What Is Your Favorite Minds Matter Memory? There are too many to choose from! Honestly, anytime we get together with all the volunteers and the mentees (Field Day, Picnics, Mindsgiving, Gala, etc).
How Have You Benefited Personally From Your Experience at Minds Matter? What Does Minds Matter Mean to You? Being a part of Minds Matter means that I get to help empower students and encourage them to pursue their goals, even when they don't think it's possible. It's hard to explain the joy I feel when one of my students finally understands a difficult math concept that they've been struggling with, or when they get into a summer program that they didn't think was possible or when they get a full-ride scholarship to their dream school. All of this is made possible by the dedication of volunteers and the hard work of students and I'm so thankful to be part of this community.