EduTutor - Marketing Research and Implementation

EduTutor is an online platform that offers small group and private online tutoring sessions for K-12 students.  

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Through the Level UP remote internship program, EduTutor creator and high school teacher, Chris Ujimoto, partnered with Paola Gonzalez to work on EduTutor’s marketing efforts. 

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A student at the University of Toronto, Paola learned invaluable marketing skills on her project with EduTutor through the Level UP program. As part of a team of Level UP students working with EduTutor, Paola completed marketing tasks that helped promote the company throughout the greater Toronto area.  

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Paola found so much value in being exposed to this marketing project. 

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“This experience definitely added to my marketing knowledge. I’m in a healthcare program, and I have not had many opportunities to be exposed to marketing and education regarding marketing. I feel better prepared to help with the marketing aspects of my field of work in the future [now],” Paola shared.  

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Working in education for almost thirty years, Chris understands the importance of nurturing Level UP students like Paola by providing an opportunity for real-world experience. 

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”With our various projects, it can’t just be theoretical, so we’re really hands-on. We really want to make sure students can use their skills and that they can see that they’re making a difference.”  

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This marketing project made a huge difference for EduTutor but Chris also wanted to make sure the students were growing through the experience. 

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“The marketing work has been a great project. We have consistent weekly meetings and students are able to have a say in how we are moving forward. When the students have a great idea, we let them run with it. We’ve been able to diversify our social media because of the ideas from students.” 

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Chris made it easy to communicate with his Level UP-facilitated team by providing his personal phone number and multiple means of communication. Having so many touchpoints provided a safe space for students to experiment with work. 

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“When we had ideas that maybe weren’t the best suited for Chris’ company, he was able to give us feedback to show us how we could adapt our ideas to best suit it,” Paola said. 

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The impact of Paola and the marketing project was significant for EduTutor. 

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“We had maybe less than a hundred people on our Instagram. Now we have over 600. We can see that the number of users who are following us has increased because of the work of Level UP students. Our audience has increased across social media, which has been huge. But also the number of clients we’re getting has increased, too,” Chris said. 

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This experience for Chris was more than just having quality students doing quality work. By working with the Level UP program, Chris filled his own skill gaps while mentoring students. 

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“But the student also got a mentor as well. I think it is very important that we mentor these students. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved. For students working with an employer who cares about them and their development, it can be an amazing experience,” Chris shared. 

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A key part of Chris’ success working with the Level UP program has been giving students room to nurture their ideas. 

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“I know the students who are working with me really appreciate the fact that I respect their opinions, and I ask for their ideas and follow up with them. I think it’s important for employers to really give that to students because there could be some ideas that could really help their businesses if they just listen to what the students are saying.” 

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Working with Level UP has sped up EduTutor’s growth. 

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“It would’ve been really slow getting to this point if I just had to depend on myself. So as a solo founder, as the only person running this business, it’s been fantastic. It’s been great working with Level UP and Riipen,” Chris said. 

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Working with the Level UP program afforded Paola the opportunity to explore an area of business that she hadn’t been exposed to before. Being paired with EduTutor was a very positive experience for her, and she hopes other students will take advantage of such an amazing opportunity. 

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“I would definitely recommend this way of learning to other students as it can fit into their schedules quite nicely. And if they have a company like my team did that’s very understanding and willing to teach and willing to collaborate, it can be a very meaningful experience,” Paola shared. 

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Thank you to Paola Gonzalez for sharing her experience on Riipen. To learn more about how you can get started with the Level UP remote internship program as a student or employer, visit the website here. ‍Stay up to date with the latest in higher education, experiential learning, and the future of work, subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter, The Riipen Report.

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Riipen Level UP program is funded by the Government of Canada's Innovative Work-Integrated Learning (I-WIL) Initiatives program. The opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada.