Michael O’Neill is one of our longest-tenured volunteers, as he began tutoring at FLOC 13 years ago. While living in Washington, D.C. in 2000, Michael had some free time during the weekends and began to search for organizations he could volunteer with. Michael says, “Having been a tutor in Detroit, Michigan, before I moved to D.C., I felt For Love of Children was the perfect match for me.”
It was in 2007 that Michael began to tutor Kevin, who he has now tutored for 6 years. Shortly after they met, Kevin began to show interest in learning to play chess, one of Michael’s favorite pastimes. Michael loves that he has been able to see Kevin grow through his love for chess and another of Michael’s favorite games when he was young, Monopoly. Kevin is teaching Michael how to play the latest take on Monopoly—Millionaire Monopoly.
Michael’s says his favorite part of FLOC is “the continuing education of tutors and the ability to adapt the curriculum to each student’s needs.” He also loves the blend FLOC offers its students by providing them with the neighborhood tutoring close to home while also giving them the opportunity to do something very different like go to the Outdoor Education Center in West Virginia, where students get hands-on learning experiences in the outdoors.
During his free time, Michael loves to play board games and chess, and is an avid reader. He often goes to Politics and Prose and the National Gallery of Art.
(Sarah Arango is the NTP Bilingual Program Coordinator at FLOC).
