Tiger Tutor Team at RIT builds on first-year success as it prepares to support more Rochester students in advanced math

Rochester, New York – The Tiger Tutor Team is gearing up for its second year of supporting young math enthusiasts in the Rochester City School District, and there’s already a buzz of excitement around what’s to come. The program, which pairs students from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) with elementary and middle school learners, proved to be a hit in its inaugural year—and this fall, it’s coming back stronger, smarter, and even more prepared.

Among those helping shape the future of the initiative is Lily Yengo, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major at RIT. This past spring, Yengo worked closely with a small group of accelerated fifth graders, helping them explore algebra, trigonometry, and other advanced math concepts well beyond their grade level. Now, instead of taking the summer off, she’s playing a key role behind the scenes—crafting a framework to make the tutoring experience smoother and more impactful for everyone involved.

“I love working with kids. I love math, I’m a huge nerd and so working with these super smart kids who are huge nerds—and I mean this in the most loving way possible—they were there because they wanted to be there. They wanted to learn algebra and trigonometry in their free time. So, we taught them,” said Yengo, who is from Skaneateles, N.Y.

Building Momentum

The Tiger Tutor Team launched during the 2024–2025 academic year as a partnership between RIT’s industrial and systems engineering department and the Rochester City School District. In its first run, over 60 RIT students served as tutors in five eighth-grade math classrooms and one specialized group of fifth graders. These students met regularly at three city schools—Loretta Johnson Middle School, School of the Arts, and No. 12 School.

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The main objective of the program was to keep highly capable young students engaged in advanced math and ensure they stayed on the path to success, especially as they prepared for critical benchmarks like the New York State Regents exams.

“Sometimes it’s trial by fire and you just need to throw it together and see what works and what doesn’t,” Yengo explained.

Last year’s tutors entered classrooms without a strict curriculum, relying instead on flexibility, creativity, and a shared love of math. But now, with a year’s worth of experience under their belts, the program is refining its approach.

Creating a Roadmap for Future Tutors

Yengo’s work this summer has focused on turning last year’s improvisational spirit into a more structured toolkit for future tutors. She’s creating a collection of instructional materials—complete with worksheets, solutions, and suggested activities—so that incoming tutors have a strong foundation from day one.

“We didn’t have a curriculum per se, so my job now is to do that work so that next semester’s tutors are prepared. Everything will be ready. I may not have known how to teach someone the quadratic formula, but my job over the summer is to prepare a guide for the tutors with worksheets and answers, just to make everything more streamlined. Coming up with math problems on the fly is really hard.”

This new level of organization is expected to help incoming volunteers feel more confident in the classroom. Yengo knows how valuable that preparation can be—especially when facing a room full of curious and driven fifth graders hungry to learn material well beyond their years.

A Tutor With Heart

Yengo’s love for teaching didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s been part of her life for as long as she can remember. Her mother, a lifelong educator and now a principal, helped shape her understanding of how powerful learning can be—especially when it’s delivered with empathy, enthusiasm, and care.

“I’ve got to shout out to my mom. She was a teacher her whole life, now she is a principal. I have always been around kids. I’ve gone to her classroom after school and hung out with her and whatever kids she was teaching at the time. I’ve taken a lot from her to do this job. We’ve probably talked about this job more than any other that I’ve had because she cares about algebra curriculums, that’s her thing. She loves teaching. I learned the most from my mom about this.”

Yengo’s natural ease with kids helped her connect quickly with the students she tutored last semester. She described the classroom atmosphere as lively, supportive, and full of intellectual curiosity. For many of the young students, the experience was a chance to go beyond what was expected of them—and to do so surrounded by peers who shared the same love for learning.

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“To succeed in something that challenging is rewarding—for them and for us. And you can tell that they know that is really hard, and that’s why they like it too. When we do algebra together, they are asking questions, talking to each other, they are showing each other their work, it is a bigger conversation.”

More Than Just a Job

Even while on co-op with DDS Companies this summer—where she’s developing base maps of underground utility lines for natural gas installations—Yengo has made time to stay involved with the Tiger Tutor Team. For her, tutoring is not just a side project—it’s a calling that blends her technical mind with her passion for helping others.

“For me, at RIT, I am a student, I am there to learn and I’m trying to soak up as much calculus as I can, because it is really hard. But with the kids, it is such a different age demographic. It’s fun to talk to them and these kids are fun.”

The tutoring program isn’t just valuable for the young students. RIT students benefit too. They gain hands-on experience communicating difficult concepts, learn how to adjust their teaching styles in real time, and build confidence in their own knowledge.

And perhaps more importantly, they form bonds—both with the children they teach and with one another.

“Dr. Katie (industrial engineering department head Katie McConky) began a partnership with the Rochester City School District and invited engineering and math students to volunteer. She said if you like working with kids and if you like math you should be a Tiger Tutor, and I was like yeah… perfect! There were about 15 of us that worked with the fifth-grade students in groups of three or four.”

Looking Ahead

As the Tiger Tutor Team prepares for the 2025–2026 school year, expectations are high. With a stronger curriculum, refined training, and renewed enthusiasm, the team is poised to make an even bigger difference in the lives of young learners. The spark of excitement that began last year is catching on—and with leaders like Lily Yengo helping guide the way, there’s every reason to believe that spark will keep growing.

The program’s success stands as a reminder that learning is at its best when it’s shared, when it’s fun, and when it’s fueled by curiosity—whether you’re in fifth grade or studying mechanical engineering.