A first year Greek Australian law student, who has already entered the year with a full schedule, is going the extra step to give back to the school community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Using the video sharing platform YouTube, Melbourne-based university student Theodoula Vorenas is providing free continuous tutoring to students currently struggling engage in study for their VCE.
Speaking to The Greek Herald, Theodoula says she felt sympathy towards students trying to get through their VCE during COVID-19, knowing first-hand how stressful the situation can be for some students.
“After we found out about the first COVID restrictions, I was feeling so unsure how these students were going to get through their VCE,” Theodoula says to The Greek Herald.
“With all these restrictions I thought there was no way I could do face to face tutoring, so I thought why don’t I just do something online on a platform like YouTube where everyone can access it for free, as opposed to trying to get students to pay through Zoom.”
Former school captain of Mercy College, Coburg, Theodoula has always been an active member of her school community and is constantly looking for a way to give back to students. Recognising not everyone has the means to pay for continuous tutoring, she decided to donate her time to help those going through their VCE.
“What I wanted for my channel was for the tutoring to be continuous. I didn’t want students to just access it once and never think about it again.
“I wanted it to be a resource that was there for their whole VCE journey.”
With her videos ranging from five minutes to twenty minutes long, students have the option between a speedy tutorial, or to engage in their learning with extended guidance.
“I know some of my videos are quite long but I’m trying to get as much content in there as possible, I want to try and make sure they are the best possible resource for students.”
Having a heavy workload at university, her YouTube tutorials have helped her to be conscious of time management. However, she finds that helping students with their studying techniques is just as important as her university course work.
Theodoula’s grandparents hail from from the Greek islands of Thessanloniki and Lemnos, with the law student recognising that much of her generous attitude derives from her family values.
“It’s something that has always been instilled in me from a very young age by my parents and grandparents.”
