Meet our Volunteer of the Month, Greg Hosono

Greg Hosono is an 826 Pathways tutor, gliding around with a TI-84 calculator in one hand and a volume of Shakespeare’s complete works in the other.

Greg HosonoGregory Hosono hails from Palo Alto, CA. He is a voracious reader (currently in the middle of a Haruki Murakami reading challenge with his best friend), a tea drinker (often with strangers), an avid Bay Area sports fan, and a habitual user of parentheses. He takes great pleasure in handwriting letters to his friends (and also taught a weekend workshop on letter writing). He is not too old to use Snapchat (though some of the students in the evening tutoring program Pathways have tried to convince him otherwise).

Greg attended Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, for high school and has been taking a gap year between high school and college.

“I’m very fortunate to have been taught by many exceptional teachers and coaches at Andover—too many to list—who were great role models for my tutoring in the Pathways program,” Hosono says.

It is not uncommon to see Greg gliding around Pathways with a TI-84 calculator in one hand and a volume of Shakespeare’s complete works in the other. He hopes to pursue his two academic passions—classics and computer science—in college.

Greg shares his take on 826 Valencia and the experiences he has gained as a Pathways tutor:

“A combination of fate and serendipity led me to 826 Valencia. I read about 826 on the back of a Dave Eggers book, A Hologram for the King, that was given to me as a graduation gift by my English teacher and closest faculty friend. Without that book, I’m not sure I would have ever learned about 826 Valencia.

During volunteer orientation, 826 staff member Olivia talked about how at 826 Valencia anyone can be ‘relentlessly enthusiastic’ about learning. I was intrigued. Now nearing the end of my second year on the Pathways Program, I see students who believe that every day they can make progress toward their goals through effort. The other tutors show up week after week ready to tackle whatever comes their way. The staff works tirelessly to make everything possible. I always leave 826 feeling inspired.

Seeing my students make strides in all areas of their lives has been a tremendously rewarding part of tutoring at 826. I’m always proud of my students’ accomplishments, but I’m most proud of their determination to learn.”

826 is honored to be a part of Greg’s gap year experience and appreciative of the help he has offered our students.

To read about all of our featured volunteers, visit the Volunteer of the Month gallery.