By Guadi Rabino
Assistant Managing Editor
Costa Alumni Sean Patrick Burke and Rob Stone are thinking outside the hut with their creation of a local chain tutoring business, Study Hut.
Burke (‘03) and Stone (‘01) put their tutoring skills to use when they opened Study Hut in Manhattan Beach in 2006. Study Hut has since expanded to several locations across the South Bay and developed their company to encompass tutoring for standardized tests.
“I think I really would have benefited from a place like Study Hut when I was younger,” Burke said. “It is an extremely welcoming environment, and I truly think it is the best place for students to excel academically.”
Burke and Stone were both active participants in Mira Costa’s Scholar Quiz competition during their years at Costa. A member of the Parent Teacher Association approached Burke and Stone, along with the Study Hut Foundation, eight years ago, and they have been sponsoring Mira Costa’s Scholar Quiz competition ever since.
Click to learn how scholar quiz questions are selected
“I love seeing how smart all of the kids are,” Burke said. “My favorite part of the entire tournament is seeing kids we saw participate in the Manhattan Beach Middle School Scholar Quiz perform well at the Mira Costa Scholar Quiz.”
Stone, a University of Colorado, Boulder alumnus, met Burke, a Loyola Marymount University alumnus, after they each graduated from their respective colleges. They then started drawing up their business ideas and discussing the plan for Study Hut.
“What we wanted to create was a place that we wish we had had available to us when we were in high school,” Stone said. “We wanted a place where kids felt like they wanted to be there instead of an environment in which kids were forced to be there by their parents.”
Click here to see all of the different services that Study Hut offers for high school students
Shortly after the initial opening of their first location in Manhattan Beach, the two then expanded and opened offices all over the South Bay, including cities such as El Segundo, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Newport Beach. Currently, there are five locations across the South Bay with around 50 tutors at each location.
Click to see a video of Junior Harrison Mayesh talking about the benefits of Study Hut
“Ever since the first month we were in business, we have been profitable,” Stone said. “It’s been amazing to see the business grow as much as it did, and we never expected it to be at the place it is now.”
In the future, Burke and Stone wish to continue to aid students through their academic careers and help them attend four-year universities. They also hope to teach young, South Bay elementary school students study skills at levels that can help aid them in the future.
“We not only want to continue doing what we are doing, but I would also like to see our services extend to the elementary schools,” Stone said. “Because we have so much experience with the middle school and high school, we know what is expected of these kids down the road, and I want to help prepare these kids.”
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