In October of 2008, the test format was altered to include a more extensive civics section in which the examiner can choose any 10 questions from a list of 100 that the test-taker must study ahead of time.

In addition, Suttle and Roche-Freeman say that they understand how the rising cost of the test raises the stakes for prospective citizens.

While Suttle says she paid less than $100 to apply, the cost today is $680.

FORGING FRIENDSHIPS

The student program chair for Citizenship Tutoring, Julia B. Konrad ’13, emphasizes that the program offers volunteers a unique opportunity to build relationships with Harvard employees.

She says she realized just how connected she was to these workers during her first tutoring experience. Her “tutee,” Jose, realized when they first met that he had seen her name on her door earlier that day when cleaning bathrooms.

“The bond you make with your tutee is unique—these are people you see all around the campus,” she said.

Jacob J. Hutt ’13, a volunteer who joined the program as a freshman, also says he finds these bonds to be extremely meaningful.

Last spring, Hutt began working with Manuel Mendes, a native of the Cape Verde Islands and a custodian in Paine Hall.

Hutt tutored Mendes intensively for the two months before his scheduled test date.

“My experience with Manuel was different than most because we had so little time,” Hutt says.

Like many other participants in the program, Mendes had to overcome a language barrier, made additionally difficult by the fact that English is his third language—he is a native speaker of Portuguese and also speaks some French.

Yet Mendes’ grasp of the English language was strong enough that he ultimately focused his preparation less on the speaking and writing portion of the test.

“Because he had English speaking and comprehension ability, the thing we needed to spend most of our time on was the history and civics portion,” Hutt says.

The time crunch and long hours of preparation allowed Mendes and Hutt to bond.