Watch out world, they're coming. One of my former tutees, now a rising senior at Harvey Mudd, is coming over today to tell me about the semester she spent at the University of Edinburgh. I encouraged her to take the opportunity rather than spending that semester at HM because she needed to spread her wings, not stay clipped. Another of my former tutees is going to be graduated from Harvard College on Friday. After that she plans to take a gap year in Vietnam before medical school.
I do not just tutor young women. There have been nearly an equal number of young men who are either still in college (Bowdoin, Berkeley, etc.), or have gone on to careers. The difference is that the young women keep in touch more. I do see the guys occasionally, but the women come by every time they are in town.
Today I will finally meet Sarah's parents. In what always strikes me as odd and somehow dangerous, most of these kids (and they are kids when they first come to me) don't have parents who want to meet the tutor. Perhaps I was over protective but I always made a point of at least meeting any adults my sons interacted with. Of course most students get my name through their English teachers, so it's possible those teachers describe me to the parents.
All of these young women are bright and determined, far more focused than I remember being at their age. I hope they maintain their spirit as they move on.
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