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Long Island Teen Builds Peer Tutoring Website To Streamline Learning During Pandemic

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- In-person tutoring completely stopped when schools went virtual.

On Long Island, a teenager not only thought of a solution, he created one.

Lucas Diaz is preparing for the SATs. He's taking free lessons made possible because of Blast Off Tutoring, a site that streamlines the process.

It was built by Mitchell Meyer, a junior at Plainview High School.

"I just wanted a simple site that was easy to use," Meyer told CBS2's Steve Overmyer. "And hopefully the whole process of you can get a tutor within a day. That was my goal."

Meyer saw a need. All National Honor Society members must complete 50 hours of community service. But because of the pandemic, the typical paths to achieve that were closed.

LINK: Click here to learn more about Blast Off Tutoring.

Mitchell created the platform and he hit on something by making it mutually beneficial and free.

"Tutoring is not cheap, exactly. So, being able to go on the free platform, it's a pretty big advantage," said Diaz.

Tutoring sessions can cost up to $50 an hour. But these are free and peer-to-peer.

"The best teachers come across as your friend. If you have a friend that's teaching you, instant chemistry," Diaz said. "I feel like you can really learn and connect better."

"There have been some moments where I was just able to tell them a formula and he was just like, 'Wow! That's how you do that?' said Srijan Sai, another Plainview High School student.

"Not only does it help you in school, but it make you enjoy school more. Because you know what you're doing," said Diaz.

"What message do you think that you're giving to every other high school student with regards to creating something?" Overmyer asked Meyer.

"If you just have a motive behind something, just do it. Worst case, it doesn't work," Meyer replied.

"And if it doesn't work, then what?" asked Overmyer.

"Then you learn. You learn from creating the process," said Meyer.

That's a formula for success.

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