Tutor Spotlights: Alyson and Michael Fotia

October 1, 2024

There’s only one thing better than volunteering with Heart to support your local students- volunteering along with your friends and family! We recently caught up with Alyson and Michael Fotia, a husband and wife tutoring pair who have a long history of supporting Heart students together! Alyson first began tutoring after learning about Heart at her training orientation at Bank of America 9 years ago, and she invited Michael to join her! Read more about their tutoring experiences, favorite moments, and advice below!

What is your favorite or most rewarding thing about being a tutor? What is the best part about tutoring together?

• Alyson: My favorite part is the excitement my student expresses when I ask them how they feel after completing a challenging lesson, mastering a new concept notebook, or beating me in a competitive math game. Watching them light up and strut with confidence to the cart to pick out their next notebook or select their favorite color crayon to fill in their progress map always puts the biggest smile on my face. It brings me so much joy to tell them how proud I am of them.
• Michael: The smile on my student’s face in the morning brightens up my day from the start. Knowing I’m making a difference in someone else’s life is so rewarding. Tutoring together brings Alyson and I closer as a couple. We get to know each other’s students. We share stories outside of HMT about great times had during a tutoring session together. 

How have you seen your students grow through tutoring?

• Alyson: Watching my student’s love for learning grow throughout the year with the fun, interactive games is such a pleasure. It makes me so happy when my student gets excited to play their favorite game during a lesson and tells me they are going to teach their family members at home once they receive their own deck of cards at the end of year celebration. 
• Michael: The confidence is the biggest change I’ve seen. The past few students I’ve tutored were shy and quiet on day one. They may question whether their answer is right or not and what my reaction may be. But by the end [of the year], they are confident in their work and can explain how they arrived at their answers well.

How does your volunteer experience impact other parts of your life?

• Alyson: It’s the biggest honor and privilege knowing I’m helping a student in our local community, and even better, local elementary school. It gives me a deeper sense of meaning and purpose and I can tell I’m more energized on the days I tutor because of it. 
• Michael: I am humbled to volunteer with such a great organization. Waking up every day knowing I’m making a difference in someone else’s life brings joy, purpose and direction in my life.

What would you say to others who are considering volunteering?

• Alyson: Do it!! It’s the most efficient and effective way to give back to the community and feel a direct impact each week in the classroom. The relationship you create with your student throughout the year is so special and the milestones they will accomplish with your individualized attention is the most rewarding feeling ever! It’s what has kept me coming back for the past 9 years. 
• Michael: 30 minutes out of a week that has over 10,000 minutes in it is not a big time commitment. We all have it. It’s just a matter of prioritization. If you want to make a difference in the community, this is the program you need to be a part of.

Thank you, Alyson and Michael, for your time and your support of Charlotte students!

Recruit your spouse, friend, or coworker and volunteer as tutors together this year! Sign up here, and leave a note in your preferences if you’d like to tutor on the same day or as partner tutors!