Helping students from across the globe

Kids from Mexico, Germany, Vietnam, China, Haiti...as a tutor and aspiring teacher, Melissa Arguelles Garcia has helped students from across the globe.

Years ago, she started tutoring as a Hoover High School student. Today, Melissa is in Year 2 of earning a social sciences degree at San Diego State as she moves toward becoming a credentialed teacher.

Her dream is to teach history at middle or high school levels.

In addition to a full college course load, Melissa works in a candy store in Liberty Station and continues to tutor at Clark Middle School where, as a Price Community Scholar, she mentors students who live in City Heights.

Reflecting upon the many students she has tutored, she said she bonded tightly with an autistic boy. As she pushed to secure an educational plan for him, the two of them would devote a big chunk of every session toward practicing his lettering.

“We were able to see his struggles,” Melissa said. “Now he writes inside the lines.”