Verizon Employees Support UPchieve Students During COVID-19

Verizon Employee by Day … UPchieve Coach by Night!

As part of Verizon’s partnership with UPchieve, Verizon has committed 1,000 volunteers to serve as Academic Coaches on our online tutoring platform. Academic Coaches work one-on-one with students in our virtual classroom and help them with homework, test prep, college planning, and more.

Verizon employees have stepped up during COVID-19 and brought tremendous passion, dedication and care to their work as Academic Coaches. Their enthusiasm for teaching continually inspires us! We asked Verizon volunteers to share with us about their experiences working with students on our platform. 


Verizon Employee Name: Briana

UPchieve tutor Briana

Why did you sign up to volunteer with UPchieve?

“I signed up to volunteer with UPchieve because I wanted to give back. The majority of my family works in the education field so education has always been important to me. I wanted to do my part to help students, especially with the increased level of virtual learning due to COVID. When I was in school there were people that did their best to help me in subjects that I struggled in so I see this as an opportunity for me to pay it forward.” 

What has been your most memorable experience with UPchieve?

“My most memorable session would be when I worked with one student on solving quadratic equations. The student was so pleasant and enjoyable to work with. After going through the problems that she had for her homework, I was able to make up some additional problems for her to solve to make sure she truly had a good understanding of the material. I walked away from that session feeling like I truly had made a difference!”

What would you tell your colleagues who are thinking about volunteering with UPchieve?

“If I had to give one piece of advice, it would be to not be afraid of not having the knowledge to tutor. Even if you've been out of school for a while you still have the ability to help! It's been over 8 years since I've taken an algebra class, but the study materials provided as well as some outside resources have empowered me to help students. You can tell the students really appreciate the effort that we are putting in!”

Verizon Employee Name: Clarisse

Why did you sign up to volunteer with UPchieve?

“I love teaching Math. I used to tutor online before and I enjoyed it. Being able to do what I love and help is a great experience for me.” 

What do you think of the platform? 

“The platform is amazing. I love the fact that we can use the board to help students visualize what we are explaining.” 

What has been your most memorable experience with UPchieve?

“[My student] told me she's been moving around a lot and that's why she can't remember her lessons. I loved how I felt about that session because I truly felt I was able to help her. She was asking for help on parabolic equations and it happens to be one of my favorite topics in Algebra.” 

Verizon Employee Name: Kristin 

Why did you sign up to volunteer with UPchieve?

”I signed up for UPchieve because with the COVID pandemic I really wanted to do something to volunteer. Verizon sent us an email about different opportunities, and UPchieve was one of them. The day after I signed up was one of UPchieve’s monthly coach meetings, and I absolutely loved what UPchieve is about and wanted to be involved.” 

What has been your most memorable experience with UPchieve?

“My most memorable session with UPchieve was with a student needing help in algebra, I was able to help him to come up with the answer and he actually got it! He even asked me three more questions after that because he felt comfortable. The student told me that he had been stressing about this assignment all day and how his online classes weren't really helping him to learn and that this was the first time he felt like he "got it". That's my favorite part of my current job and so to get to witness somebody understand something and implement it really made me feel like I made a difference!” 

What are you most looking forward to as an Academic Coach?

“I am excited that UPchieve is continuing to add new subjects. Though I love helping with math, I actually don't think it is my strongest subject! I look forward to continuing to see the platform grow and getting to help more students!”

Final Thoughts

Thanks to Briana, Clarisse, Kristin and all our Verizon volunteers for their dedication to education! We look forward to working closely with them to ensure all students have the support they need to succeed.

If you’re feeling inspired, you can sign up to volunteer with UPchieve yourself, or learn how your entire company can get involved!