talented TEENS An APP
talented TEENS An APP for education BY LISA CIPRIANO Most 16-year-old boys are focused on girls, homework, getting a driver’s license and goofing off with friends. Detroit Country Day sophomore, Michael Jonna is no different. Except, he is also focused on revolutionizing the online tutoring world. Ruru is a name for the Tasmanian spotted owl. It’s also the name of a creative, new tutoring app created by the budding entrepreneur. “I really feel like the owl, a wise owl, corresponds to education. It think it has a good flow and is easy to remember,” explained Jonna. Jonna, himself, is very wise at such a young age. He saw the need in the marketplace for an on-demand tutoring application and has set out to fill it. For those who may not know, an application, or app, is a computing term for a program or piece of software (most often used on smartphones) designed and written to fulfill a particular purpose for the user. Jonna realized the need for his fellow high school students to have instant, quality, affordable tutoring help at their fingertips. And like any entrepreneur, he went about creating it. “Most other online tutoring services involve scheduling tutoring appointments. Some are done through texting which is more like paying for the answer instead of learning. There is definitely nothing out there like us with instant, quality, video chat tutoring,” Jonna said. He has thought of every detail when it comes to his app: pricing, levels of service, marketing and making sure that tutors are all properly screened through background checks, credentialed and given competency tests. Jonna always has been impressed with the way that the Uber application has completely revolutionized ride sharing and used it at an inspiration for his tutoring app. “I feel like it’s a really good model for the on-demand trend happening with apps these days. No one really wants to wait anymore. And with something like tutoring, you need it at a specific time, especially if you have a test the next day,” Jonna explained. Much like Uber offers different quality of cars, Ruru offers quality levels of tutors with three different tiers: RURUONE, RURUPLUS and RURUPRO. It’s not only homework help, RU- RUONE is also great way for high school students, who are especially proficient in a particular subject, to make some money. “We felt like student tutors would be comfortable with dollars per hour because it’s hard to get that at a normal job at our age,” said Jonna. There is a 75/25 split, meaning that 75 percent of the cost will go to the tutor and 25 percent will go to Ruru,” he added. The higher levels of Ruru will be more costly, but the help will come from experienced teachers and professors. Along with having things ondemand, customization is also key in this smartphone age. And, of course, Jonna has thought of that, too. Students can choose different lengths of tutoring depending on their specific needs at the time: 15 minutes, 30 minutes or one hour. Jonna was able to take his idea and bring it to fruition with the help of a Detroit-based, web/application development company called, Novocan. “I had all of the ideas in my head and worked alongside them to help put the pieces together like the video chat system and the payment system. They definitely helped a lot. I couldn’t have done it without them,” said Jonna. Currently, Jonna’s Ruru tutoring application is only available for high school students, but he plans on eventually expanding it to help elementary, middle school and college students. He also already has ideas on updating it and keeping it fresh, which is another important element in the world of applications. Jonna, who plans to study business in the future, is eying the University of Michigan as a possible place to do so. But, right now, his main focus is on taking the online tutoring world by storm with his Ruru application. Jonna attributes much of his drive to being Chaldean. “I was raised in an all Chaldean home and my dad has really inspired me to go after my dreams and ignore the people who try to bring me down,” he said. And, Jonna dreams big. “In ten years, theoretically, I see myself running one of the biggest tutoring companies in the world,” concluded Jonna. For information on Jonna’s recently launched Ruru tutoring application including where you can download it, pricing, levels of service, tutoring subjects and how to become a tutor, visit: www.rurututor.com 20 CHALDEAN NEWS JUNE 2019
Piano prodigy raises spirits BY PAUL NATINSKY The idea of a traveling musician conjures images of gaily-clad troubadours or fedora-wearing itinerant bluesmen, not 16-year-old piano prodigies. Enter Michael Najor, a sophomore at Bloomfield Hills High School. Michael, who trains at Axis Music Academy in Birmingham, in April played a surprise birthday mini-concert at a local nursing home for 95-year-old WWII veteran Hal, a celebration arranged by his daughter Teresa Price. Hal’s “concert” featured such tunes as “Moonlight Sonata in D-Minor” and “Gymnopedie in D- Minor.” “It was a highlight for both of us, it was very emotional, it was very well received,” said Michael’s mom, Cheri Najor. She said Michael will play almost anywhere for anyone. He has tickled the ivories at his church, Renaissance Unity, as well as various farmers markets and charities for multiple sclerosis and cancer. “It’s a great feeling to entertain,” said Michael. “I love seeing people enjoying what I’m playing. It’s an awesome experience.” “Michael has been identified not only as a talented musician, but as a musician with a big heart,” said Cheri. “So when things like this come up, he is often asked to play.” Cheri played piano as a child and insisted that Michael take lessons beginning at age 5. She said there were difficult periods when he was a young child and learning the complex instrument became emotionally frustrating. Michael pushed through that with Cheri’s help. By the time he was 13, he was fully committed. This summer, Michael will head for Interlochen, the northern Michigan camp for musicians, actors and artists that boasts scores of graduates working professionally in the arts. In addition to performing, Michael’s interests include music theory, composing original music and original arrangements of existing tunes. The popular television series, “Game of Thrones,” along with its now-classic theme song, proved a temptation for Michael, who rearranged it as a ragtime tune. To Cheri’s delight, the arrangement acted as a salve to lighten the blow of the less-than-spectacular final episode. Cheri, like many GOT fans, found the show’s end, widely regarded as ham-handed storytelling, disappointing. “I’m in depression along with the rest of the world,” said Cheri. “I’m hanging my head and just shuffling along the road with how the series ended.” Cheri said Michael has perfect pitch and can play almost anything after hearing it, a trait he shares with Cheri. He is also able to identify notes by name upon hearing them, something Cheri cannot do. The pair are the only ones with musical talent in their family. Other than music, Michael’s full focus is on academics. He maintains a 3.9 grade point average and plans to attend the University of Michigan. It is not yet clear if Michael will pursue a career in music through his college days or beyond, said Cheri. Michael dabbled in sports and enjoys playing basketball recreationally, but he always finds himself returning to music. “He likes his dog, he likes piano, he likes basketball and he loves his mother,” said Cheri. Michael is very proud of his Chaldean heritage, said Cheri. “He’s a kid who helps raise money and raise spirits,” she said. Cheri is glad that she encouraged Michael to pursue playing music at an early age. She regrets not staying with it when she was a kid, although she still remembers how to play all of the songs she learned back then. “I just wanted him to have the gift of music for a lifetime. There’s a lot of things you can give your kids, but you want to give them something that will last forever; and I truly knew that music is forever.” She advises parents to make sure their kids stick with music. “If they have the most remote interest, have that be the one thing that you require them to fulfill because there’s never been an adult in the history of the world that has said, ‘I’m glad I quit playing.’” “When Michael was little, I would come behind him and he would cry. He would say, ‘I can’t do it, it’s too hard, I can’t, I can’t.’ I would sit with him and I would say, ‘just so you know, it’s not about the music anymore, now it’s about your ability to stick with something and get through your feelings. So, let’s do this together.’” Judging from the course of events after those early days, Cheri turned out to be right. JUNE 2019 CHALDEAN NEWS 21
