By Melissa Marlowe, Special to JTNews
Upon his 2001 graduation from Yale University, Matthew Kerner moved to Seattle to pursue a career at Microsoft. At the time, he had high expectations.
“My thoughts were Microsoft will create a life that’s professionally challenging and financially secure,” he says. “I did not feel it would be so important to become involved in other aspects of the community.”
However, he found Seattle to be a lonely place. After being so active in his small high school and in college, he soon became restless. A co-worker recommended checking out Idealist.org, a non-profit Web site that lists volunteer opportunities. A search for “volunteer tutoring” revealed the Youth Tutoring Program, an organization that provides one-on-one evening tutoring to students living in low-income housing communities around Seattle.
Now a volunteer for over a year, Kerner has been spending each Thursday evening working with two “at-risk” students: one kindergartener and one seventh grader. Over 80 percent of the students who participate in the program are from families where English is the second language and the majority of the children are either of East African or Southeast Asian descent.
Kerner feels that the diversity has added to his experience. While learning about his students’ cultures, he has also taught them about Jewish holidays and dietary restrictions. For many of these students, Kerner is one of the only Jewish Seattleites they have encountered.
Yet he says the true connection with the students comes from his ability to directly support them in their quest for academic success. Kerner provides a precious hour of undivided adult attention, and the students respond well to his dedication. Kerner believes the response is not unique to his students; he says he frequently witnesses the positive impact that a single hour has on both the students and the tutors.
The term mitzvah was a familiar one around the Kerner household, on the East Coast where he grew up.
“My parents belonged to a Conservative synagogue, and my father was always active in our congregation,” he says.
As a teenager, his mother ended her career as an attorney to become a teacher.
“I remember her saying that it was important to grasp an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children,” he says.
Thinking back, Kerner probably engaged in his first mitzvah in elementary school. “There was a program where senior citizens would visit the students at our school, and teach us to sew. I remember thinking this is a nice thing for us the students, but it was also benefiting the elderly.”
Even at a young age, Kerner recognized that most successful type of community service is where both parties benefit.
Of all his mitzvah memories, however, the most powerful came during college, when a friend, mourning the loss of her father, compelled Kerner to become a Jewish leader.
“During her mourning, my friend needed a minyan each night to say kaddish. I became a minyan captain, ensuring we had enough people every evening. It was probably one of the more meaningful Jewish experiences I had throughout college. Here was this diverse group of people, all with varying davening skills, pulling together to support each other. It was one of the first times I witnessed a community growing out of a mitzvah.”
When it became time to choose a career, Kerner was torn between the public service of teaching and the technological challenges of computer science.
“During college, I worked at a childcare center with four-year-olds, and I really enjoyed the experience of impacting the life of a child. However, I believe that if I didn’t pursue a career in technology, my skills would become stale and redundant. Sadly, I believe there will always be a need for teachers.”
A few weeks into his second semester of tutoring, Kerner began a recruitment campaign, inviting the co-workers from his Microsoft carpool to participate in the program.
“I still have a great deal to learn about how to relate to kids, and nowadays the discussions in the carpool revolve around tutoring techniques, [and] how to teach ratios and percentages.”
Kerner says he performs the double duty of ambassador representing the Jewish community to the students, but also in presenting the students to his colleagues.
“Usually, the community that you find yourself in is chosen,” he says, explaining how expanding his world has benefited him as well.
“Not only is tutoring fun, but it makes me a better person. It exposes me to people I would not normally encounter, recognize things I should recognize, and I like to be able these elements into my circle of friends.”
According to Kerner, in the end it’s all about creating a diverse life.
“I admire folks that spend their lives pursuing justice issues, but for me interest, time, justice, and talent are variables in the way I spend my time. Computer science is my passion, and I’m happy to have found something so fulfilling that can lend a balance.”
The Youth Tutoring Program always seeks volunteer tutors to spend two hours a week working one-on-one with elementary, middle and high school students who live in low-income housing communities. For more information, visit www.ytpseattle.org.