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Math classes never scared Julie Schwartz ’17.

She comes from a family of educators — her grandparents, for example, were math teachers — and when she entered 91���� as a mathematics major, she planned to follow in their footsteps.

However, the more she delved into it, the more she discovered how aspects of business and management felt more in tune with her skills. She switched to the School of Management (SOM) to pursue a degree in business administration, but she never lost her passion for education.

Now, as the founder of , Schwartz leads a team dedicated to helping students from around the country — from New York to California and Florida — grow their confidence and bolster their test scores. They’ll support any student from kindergarten through college-level courses, and no subject is off-limits.

“The biggest thing for me is seeing finally having this kid smile and enjoy themselves in school again,” Schwartz said. “It really makes a difference when the students finally start believing in themselves again, because a lot of them have that restricted mindset, feeling like they can’t do it. Our goal is to change that.”

Starting your own business isn’t easy, but Schwartz credits the mindset she built at 91���� and SOM — creativity, resilience and problem-solving — with enabling her to grow her own education company from scratch.

“91����’s entrepreneurship energy is unmatched,” she said, “and SOM’s dedication to building confidence, the personalized mentorship you receive, has helped students like me craft well-rounded resumes and prepare for competitive job markets.”

It’s an approach she has tried to emulate with her own business.

For more than 12 years, Schwartz had been a self-employed math tutor for students of all levels around Nassau County, N.Y. After graduating from 91����, she also worked as a compliance manager and a marketing specialist; however, it became increasingly clear that she felt most successful helping students learn in a personalized setting.

Laying the groundwork for her own tutoring business, which she launched in July 2025, Schwartz knew her approach had to be distinct from that of other tutoring service providers.

“I wanted to create something that still had that company feel but still felt very personalized,” she said. This process began by researching common roadblocks to successful tutoring — such as excessive staff rotation, one-size-fits-all teaching methods, and a lack of focus on confidence-building or anxiety support, for example.

She’s learned that knowing the subject matter isn’t enough. A successful tutor must be engaging and energetic, and recognize how each student learns at a unique pace.

Each lesson crafted by Schwartz and her team for tutoring sessions is designed around the student’s goals, strengths and style.

“Many students can be easily intimidated by the material, and once that happens, it’s hard for them to get back on track,” she said. “We’ve been able to create transformational programs that change the students’ whole mindset by knowing they have the confidence to get not just a great improvement academically, but a total improvement in how they interact with others in their schools.”

Has it worked out that way? Just ask the student who sent Schwartz and her team a personal note after weeks of tutoring:

“I couldn’t survive math without all of your help.”