Our Story
LRT works to mitigate the impact of prolonged school closures during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Living Room Tutors was founded by Mayo High School Junior, Jinglin Li. According to Li, she first had the idea to start this service after school closures changed her role in her household from big sister to teacher. Jinglin began tutoring her two younger siblings, Jessica and David when schools switched to distance learning. She noticed that despite her parents possessing extensive educational backgrounds, they did not know how to help Jessica and David with their grade level homework. “The schooling curriculum has just changed with time” said Jinglin Li. “It makes more sense to be tutored by someone who recently been through the education system”. With these thoughts in mind, Jinglin launched Living Room Tutors from her own living room on April 24th of 2020.
Jinglin Li
Executive Director
Jinglin is a sophomore at the University of Minnesota and a graduate of Mayo High School. She was inspired to create Living Room Tutors after watching her own two siblings struggle with their distance learning schoolwork. She is focused on creating a community with better digital access and actively works with the non-profit consortium’s digital equity task force. In her free time, Jinglin likes to spend her time painting, cooking, or hanging out with her family and friends.
Yifan Zhai
Operations Manager
Yifan is a junior at Woodbury High School. She is involved in many school activities and clubs such as swimming, speech, future health professionals, red cross, and national honors society. She is an avid learner and a strong believer in greater educational equity. In her free time, Yifan loves to read, watch movies, or spend time with her family and friends.
Cooper Gamble
Project Director
Cooper is a rising senior at Mayo High School. A passionate learner and a dedicated teacher, he is committed to education. At LRT, Cooper develops frameworks for and coordinates the implementation of various program-enhancement projects. He is involved with many of the clubs MHS has to offer, and in his free time, you will likely find him reading, playing instruments, or spending time with his friends.
Katherine Buhman
Public Relations Specialist
Kate is a senior at Century High School. She has traveled internationally her whole life and is always getting involved in her community. She participates in clubs like Mock Trial and Honours Society. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, playing violin, and basketball.
Madeleine Nemergut
Outreach Specialist & Administrative Coordinator
Madeleine, a rising junior at Mayo High School, is dedicated to expanding the access of educational resources to all members of our community. She tutors in English, Spanish, Biology, and History and has greatly enjoyed working with ESL students through Living Room Tutors. At Mayo High School, Madeleine is an active member of Key Club, Spanish Club, Model UN, UNICEF, and the Girls Swim and Dive team. Additionally, she has side passions for reading, baking, biking, and solving puzzles.
Skylar Wilkens
Skyler is a junior at Woodbury High School, and she participates in student council and yearbook club. Outside of school, she tutors through LRT, and especially loves teaching math. She is also heavily involved in competitive dance, and takes classes in a variety of styles around 12 hours a week. In her free time she enjoys reading, baking, and traveling.
Mary Gorfine
Operations
Mary is the program coordinator of the Rochester-Olmsted Youth Commission. She helps oversee all LRT operations and supports all of Living Room Tutor’s student volunteers.
Arunav Lamba
Aru is a junior at Century High School. He participates in his community and at his school through extracurricular activities such as jazz band, marching band, and volunteering at the Mayo Clinic. In his free time, there are a variety of hobbies and activities that he enjoys: these activities include skiing, playing tennis, and playing the saxophone. Aru enjoys reading all sorts of novels from science fiction to classical works of literature.
Ian Alexander
Ian Alexander is a Junior at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis studying Computer Science. He is interested in technology and startups and brings what he’s learned from his startup experiences to the Living Room Tutors Team. In his free time, Ian likes to bike and work on side projects for himself and his friends.
Amara Mozammel
Amara is a rising senior at Century High School. As a student inspired to study medicine, she is especially fascinated by the intersection between the humanities and science components. With a strong love for music, Amara has been studying classical piano for nearly 12+ years. She is also a firm believer in the power of writing and its ability to close gaps in knowledge. Most of the time, however, you can find Amara attempting to make piano arrangements from shows she’s liked, scrounging Goodreads reviews, or even just spending time with her family.
LRT Alumni
Honoring all past members of the Living Room Tutors team! Thank you for the unique experiences, skills, and knowledge you all possessed that helped moved our organization forward!
Rita Dai
Annie Chen
Zoey Chen
Jasmine Cao