A Tale of SAT & ACT Tutoring in Loveland: From Tragedy to Triumph

 Great Sacrifices Lead to Great Rewards

Many of us still remember the first time we read Dicken's A Tale of Two Cities. The fate of two individuals that looked so alike embraced their destinies with so much courage. A story of love (true charity), fire, death, and triumph was ultimately a story of virtue conquering life. How does all of this related to SAT and ACT prep in Loveland? Let's see.

Well, it all started with a phone call. "Hello! Is this Michael DiSalvo? I want you do SAT and ACT tutoring and test prep for my daughters here in Loveland!" I'm exaggerating a bit, but the loud, unpolished, person at the other end of the phone didn't seem like my typical tutoring client. I wasn't even sure she could afford my services (though they continue to be 1/2 to `1/5 of my competitors), but she was a referral from some other hard-working students of mine who knew the regularity I was able to get in my 99th percentile results in SAT and ACT tutoring and test prep. So, I eventually headed for my first appointment for tutoring the PSAT, SAT, and ACT in Loveland. Although I had done SAT and ACT test prep and tutoring in Loveland, I had not been to this particular neighborhood before. I turned onto a private drive and wow, what houses! By the time I got to the end, there was the capping gem, with a woman at the end of a long private drive with extra parking spaces.

"Yep, your at the right place!" I myself, though being a tutor, have been known in the past (and present) as being a loud mouth, so I could relate to her frank demeanor. Well, mom, was charming and made me feel perfectly at home in their gorgeous home. Her daughters were equally charming, and smart too. Like many talented students, their scores were about the 60th percentile, about a 600 equivalent on the SAT. But both these girls were laser focused on improving their scores. Though they had SAT and ACT tutoring prep previously (outside the Loveland area at a tutoring center in Cincinnati), I don't think they saw much improvement through the tutoring. They both absorbed every word I said and I soon focused on the older daughter, who need to complete her ACT tutoring soon, as she was soon going to be a senior. So we made steady progress until one day...

So I drove up as normal to my private parking space on the estate in Loveland, OH, and noticed somebody was grilling behind the brick wall partition that sheltered the wood pile near the garage. It smelled good, but the flames look pretty high (and dangerous)? So open ringing the door, ready to start the tutoring, I said, "Looks like you all are having a barbecue out here!" The older daughter, whom I'll call Jessica, responded in her normal cheerful way. "Ya." So, I opened the ACT book, and we were about to start the session, when mom asked, "Did he say we were having a barbecue?" She quickly disappeared, and in a split second was back: "There's a fire out here!!!" Then all pandemonium broke lose. My back was actually killing me that day so I wasn't able to walk. There being snow and ice all around, I finally was able to get outside once we figured out who should call the fire department and which phone to use. "Quick throw snow on the fire!" cried Mom. I tried my best but back spasms were killing me. We tried to get the fire hose to work, but it was disconnected. It is all a big blur, but I remember frantically shoving bit after bit of snow on that wood pile which had exploded into flame for what reason God only knows. Finally, after what seemed and eternity but was probably about 12 minutes the fire truck came (it took some coaxing and we called two or three times, but the department said the truck had to drive slowly because of the icy roads). Finally, the truck showed up, they found the hydrant, and the splurge of water put our raging fire to a quick end. We had saved the garage and the house.

After her family's many compliments to my acumen in detecting raging fires threatening the life and property of their estate (and my firefighting abilities), the ACT tutoring adventure continued. We really knocked that first ACT out of the park-- a 33 on that test that put her into the 99th percentile. It was great to have another student, especially in the same referral chain that was able to reach that lofty goal. For a tutor to see that hard work pay off in such a good student and person is very rewarding. My wife and I, expecting our first child, were looking forward to help our own child blossom, but God had other plans.

My SAT and ACT tutoring of Jessica had finished, but now I was in Loveland for another reason: her sister Jenny, likewise a very good and pleasant person (and hardworking student!), was now available to focus on her own score. And the DiSalvos were focusing on their own little "student", our first child, due in March. But things went terribly wrong...

It was a week after the midwife could not quite find a heartbeat. We had gone with a natural birth for many reasons: unfortunately, for whatever environmental reason, Joseph did not ever end up seeing this world. Instead my wife and I spent the two most painful days of our lives delivering our little one knowing there was no human hope we would ever see him alive.

My wife, having her parents in India, took it especially hard. Our lives seeming to spin out of control, I knew I needed to continue to tutor: if only to distract me from the terrible pain of losing my only son on what would have been his full-term birth date. Jenny and her family did so much to comfort me. Her mom and many of my students' parents made it to the funeral. We had received so many baby shower and other gifts. No the sympathy, the flowers-- especially the lovely orchid sent to us at the hospital by the mother of one of my ACT students-- gave us so much comfort.

In the end, through such a turbulent, sad, yet life-giving year, Jessica and Jenny succeeded. Jenny became a National Merit Scholar by scoring perfectly on the writing section of the PSAT to make her a National Merit Scholar and Jessica with her 99th percentile ACT score easily got into Notre Dame. Both girls doing so well through their SAT and ACT tutoring ended up in Notre Dame. I helped them put out the biggest personal fire that they had to deal with, and they helped me deal with the inferno of losing my son. I am deeply touched by the humanity shown to me by so many families that have adopted me not just as a tutor, but as a son. Yes, Loveland certainly showed me much love, but I am grateful to all the families that have shown charity to me and my family in all Greater Cincinnati. The tale of two sisters has ended happily-- because I have gone on to live another day and to be blessed with a beautiful baby girl, with another little boy due this January.