Meet Mark Cherry of Mr. Cherry’s Math Class in Lawrenceville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Cherry.

Mark, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Three years ago, while working as a Construction Project Engineer for GDOT, quite a few changes were occurring. As 2014 began, I was managing the Georgia State Route 400 (Toll plaza removal) project and other projects in the metro Atlanta area. My supervisor from 2013-14, Harry Hatcher (Area Engineer), was awesome! For the 1st time in my engineering career, I felt that I was really using my full potential. I was given more responsibilities and a wider exposure/variety of projects. During the Spring of 2014, I was given the privilege of managing the final stages of the I-85/SR 400 connector project! I loved my engineering career!

So you’re probably wondering why I ended up leaving a good engineering career to be a tutor, right? Well, one of the changes that I eluded to earlier was the merger of offices within a district of GDOT. This would lead to changes in projects, supervisors, schedules, etc. After communicating my concerns with my supervisors and Human Resources office and receiving negative responses, I began to consider my departure from GDOT. After months of prayer; discussions with family and friends; and personally, meditating on my future, I decided to turn in my resignation letter. GDOT was my 1st and only job/career following attaining my Civil Engineering Technology degree. In all, I was walking away from a promising career after only 7 years (2008-2014) and 2 Summer internships (2005, 2006).

I began applying for engineering positions in the Atlanta area during my final months of GDOT. As I was searching for a new engineering career, somehow my interest was piqued at the idea of tutoring. (At the time I figured I could tutor during my engineering career transition) On October 23, 2014 I applied for a tutoring position at a tutoring company (Tutor Doctor). Following the successful interview, Tutor Doctor paired me with a family in which needed academic tutoring. On November 10, 2014, I began professionally tutoring a high school student named Nahsiem. Following that session, I called my wife and told her about the ‘amazing experience’ I had. I believe that everyone has a special talent. And on that day, I had found mine and saw my future.

Despite this new ‘amazing experience’ of tutoring, at the time I was still inclined to pursue my ‘1st love’ engineering. So in January 2015, I went on an interview for an engineering position at Gwinnett County.

Based on my past experiences with interviews, I was completely confident that this job was mine! However, I would eventually get a follow-up call hearing that someone with more experience attained the position.

Months prior and following my departure from GDOT on December 31, 2014, I applied for many positions and no doors were opening. In the meantime, Tutor Doctor had given me more students to tutor. All the families were very impressed with my style of teaching. One family in particular, in explicit terms urged me to start my own tutoring business.

Though Tutor Doctor had given me tutoring jobs, it was limited to 4-5 hours of work per week. Coming from an engineering salary to the tutoring pay was a serious adjustment.

However, after praying and giving the engineering search one more month, I decided to fully pursue tutoring. In July 2015, I attained my business license for Exam Preparation and Tutoring. On July 14, 2015, Mr. Cherry’s Math Class was born! And that’s how it all started. Any questions class?

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
While the road to tutoring has been a relatively ‘smooth’ ride once I fully committed to it, there have plenty of ‘twist & turns’ to get to this point in my business.

Initially, I struggled with my confidence to truly help all types of students with various learning abilities to succeed. However, after a few months of experiences of helping students and parents reach their goals was a pure boost in confidence! The business aspect of owning has been a serious educational experience in my life. Endeavoring to expand my tutoring business has had a setback or two along the way.

Please tell us about Mr. Cherry’s Math Class.
Mr. Cherry’s Math Class is a licensed exam preparation and tutoring agency which provides: interactive learning to fit various learning abilities, schedule flexibility, affordable cost with quality teaching, and a variety of session options.

As owner/tutor, I specialize in Mathematics specifically Algebra. The parents love my professionalism and the students enjoy the enthusiasm/energy I bring to the lessons. I am proud of the connections I am able to make with the families and witness the immediate benefits that I contribute as the child makes progress academically. Besides my path to tutoring, I provide more variety of session options than most tutoring agencies. Mr. Cherry’s Math Class offers online sessions via FaceTime, Skype, Verizon video calling, and other video apps. We offer visit sessions which allow students to meet me at the library or another neutral site for lessons. Home Sessions provide the most convenience for in-person lessons. And I also provide group tutoring sessions (limited to two students per session) which allow for lower cost for all and high-quality teaching.

Another element of my tutoring that parents have highly valued is my personal commitment to their child’s success.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
As an owner, I know I’ve made mistakes along the way. However, as a spiritual man I have prayed to my God Jehovah before and throughout my time as a business owner. I truly feel that God is my boss and I work for Him. Therefore, the path that God has lead me to and the one I am on now is not one I have any regrets about. Besides, if you change one thing in the equation of life you change your conclusion. So doing something differently, may very well have been for the better or for the worse. I am content with the direction that my business is going in.

Pricing:

• Online Sessions start at $20.75
• Visit Sessions start at $42.50
• Group Sessions start at $28.75

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mrcherrysmathclass.com
• Phone: 770-668-4250
• Email: mrcherrysmathclass@gmail.com

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.