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Twelfth-grader David Conroy will take the SATs in November and feels prepared, thanks to the "Ivy Climbing" SAT prep program he took at his school in Gramercy, Manhattan.

"I am fully prepared, I feel great about it," says Conroy.

Jae Gardner and Chris McConnell are the the brains behind the free tutoring.

"Chris and I love tutoring, we have been tutoring ever since we've in high school," says Gardner. "And we thought, what better way to give back to our community but to provide free SAT tutoring to kids who live in the inner city?"

The duo are Harvard grads and say they did very well on their SAT's after using tutors to prepare.

"It's just quelling that anxiety and providing them with the confidence they need to know that, 'This answer is right, I know it's the right answer, I am going to circle this bubble and it's going to be fine,'" says Gardner.

Gardner and McConnell have a tutoring business but last year they decided they wanted to help kids who couldn't afford the service. They have taught more than 100 children for free in three schools.

"They could have found some other job and probably made a lot more money," said Felix Shen, a guidance counselor at the School of the Future. "They are like, 'I want to give back,' and that's key. I think kids need to see that too."

Binta Barry took the SATs last year, and then re-took them after receiving some tutoring from Gardner and McConnell. Her score went up 200 points.

She says Gardner and McConnell were just as excited as she was.

"That was comforting, to know that not only was I rooting for myself but that other people were routing for me," says Barry.

"We just want all of our students to have as many good options and opportunities in their future as possible," says McConnell.

"When they go 'ahh,' at that moment you know that you you have been able to get through to the kid," says Gardner.

The two even offer to help the students on their college applications.

"There's a connection there," says Shen. "You can see that after class. [They ask,] 'Hey, how is everything going at home? You need help with college essays.' That's something more than any SAT prep really gives."

So, for preparing students for the SATs and helping them climb the ladder to success, Jae Gardner and Chris McConnell are the latest New Yorkers of the Week.

For more information on Ivy Climbing, call (646) 355-9782 or go to TheIvyKey.com.

If you'd like to nominate someone to be NY1's New Yorker of the Week, send an email describing their qualifications to: nyer@ny1.com or mail a letter to:
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