Benet students tutor younger kids at Lisle Library

Every Tuesday after school, a few students from Benet Academy in Lisle make their way to the Lisle Library - not to study, but to teach.

Students are volunteering as tutors to give homework help to any interested K-8 students as one of Benet Academy's National Honor Society service projects. Sean Kirwan, a senior from Naperville who has been part of NHS for three years, said that his choice to volunteer as a tutor at the Lisle Library is simple.

"I like math and science. I like to help people with that," he said.

Hadley Synylo, a junior from Naperville, is tutoring in order to gain service hours before she applies to be part of NHS this spring. And while she enjoys working with the kids, she's also gained something else from her experience.

"When you're teaching someone the basics about how 2 plus 2 equals 4, it takes you back," Synylo said. "It really makes me appreciate how I was taught."

According to Catherine Bruining, moderator for the Benet Academy Chapter of NHS, the partnership with the Lisle Library was started by a Benet senior during the 2010-11 school year.

"Since then the program has continued on during each school year, providing a weekly opportunity for the students of Benet Academy to give back to our local community," Bruining said.

Benet National Honor Society tutoring services are free and do not require any preregistration. Tutors are available upstairs in the Lisle Library's Youth Services Department from 3:30 to 5 p.m. every Tuesday.

For more information, contact the library at (630) 971-1675 or visit www.lislelibrary.org.