Saving students’ grades

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Tiffany Lee

Isabella Garrett, left, and Berince Tang work together on math homework.

Seeing your grades drop is never a welcoming sight. But help is not far away.

The Diamond Bar High School  California Scholarship Federation provides peer tutoring to give struggling students the help they need. The club was established in 2001, and operates under the motto “Scholarships for Service.” Its purpose is to give support to students who need additional tutoring and help out the local community through volunteering events.

“At first I joined reluctantly because my mom told me too, but then I found out that it was actually really fun,” co-president Daniel Huang, “I kind of had an addiction to volunteering and it transitioned into me doing a lot for the club and why I pursue the officer role as well.”

The club hosts the peer tutoring service for free after school on Mondays to Thursdays, from 3-4:30 p.m., teaching an average of 30 to 40 students weekly.

“The club volunteers in many other outside local events, such as Bread of Angels, as well as Quail Summit Science Olympiad,” co-president Ryan Li said, “We also have a range of other volunteer events such as elderly homes as well as at city events.”

To become a peer tutor, a member must have a GPA of 3.5 and have taken the class that they want to tutor for. Adviser Jennifer  Burns confirms their qualifications.

“It helps me a lot in math because I don’t have to do it at home,” sophomore Thomas Nahue said, “I studied my homework and it improved my test score and I also understand the concepts.”

“CSF provides peer tutoring, which is available to all students on campus. [It] has helped countless students improve their grades, including me personally,” Li said, “It’s essentially killing two birds with one stone for us.”

CSF offers statewide scholarships, including the $1000 Outstanding Sealbearer and the Seymour Memorial Award, offering up to $5000, that both require nominations,  while the Michelson scholarship offers $1000 with an essay requirement. The CSF scholarship offered for DBHS students requires an application and an essay.

To join, an applicant must be a junior, senior or a sophomore in their second semester with an overall GPA of 3.0. Ones who have completed four semesters of more than 16 volunteer hours will earn a sash and cord for graduation.