I first moved to Washington D.C. to attend college at American University in the
summer of 2014. Coming into this great, big city, I was slightly overwhelmed as to what college life was going to be like in such a famous city. I wanted to get involved in something because I wanted to make the most out of my college christineandjocelynexperience. During the first month of college I attended my school’s involvement fair. As I walked around, I saw a table that said “FLOC.” I was intrigued to figure out what those letters stood for so I walked up to the table and introduced myself. As we were talking, I found out that FLOC stood for “For Love of Children.” I asked some questions, got some pamphlets, and then proceeded back to my dorm room. Over the next couple of days, I looked through the massive amount of emails and papers I received from signing up for every little club and organization possible. The one organization that kept resurfacing was FLOC.
I am an intended elementary education major with a mathematics minor, so I thought that this was the right thing for me. I decided that this was a perfect way to get some experience with something that I will be doing for the rest of my life. This opportunity was perfect for me because I was able to combine something I love while having the chance to help out someone. I decided to sign up for one of the training sessions and it has been the best decision I have made here in D.C.
I came to the conclusion that tutoring in math would be the best option for me due to the minor I had chosen. From the first day I met my student, Jocelyn, I instantly felt that we were a perfect match. We seemed to mesh really well together and I knew that the rest of the year would be something incredible. I loved FLOC’s mission to make math fun for the students. I look forward to coming to FLOC every Saturday morning and working with Jocelyn. I enjoy playing store with Jocelyn and helping her add up all of the Frozen themed items she has bought.
Each and every Saturday, I look forward to working with Jocelyn and seeing her grow as an individual. Every week I learn more and more about her, like how her favorite color is purple and she loves seeing the pandas at the National Zoo. I especially love seeing Jocelyn pass unit tests and watch her expression after realizing she solved a math problem correctly, all by herself. FLOC has given me such an amazing opportunity that I couldn’t receive anywhere else and it has been the best decision ever!
(Christine Mazzocchi is a first-year tutor in the Saturday Morning Math program at FLOC and a student at American University.)
