Like a great symphony, Amanda Martin’s career has had a lot of twists and turns but plenty of high notes—all leading to a crescendo, which in her case was the creation of the rapidly growing Studyville academic workspace.
After earning degrees in music, the Alexandria native wasn’t quite sure which way the working world would take her. Performing opera came naturally to the singer with a coloratura soprano voice—think Renee Fleming or Mariah Carey—but after marrying and having children, Martin says the unpredictable life of a musician didn’t play well with the motherhood lifestyle.
Neither the typical tutoring centers nor at-home tutoring was quite what Martin was seeking for her children, so she developed a concept inspired by collegiate-style studying environments and office coworking spaces.
“I thought, ‘What if we had a coworking space for teens and tutoring?’” she recalls.
Studyville opened its doors in Perkins Rowe in August 2020, “and we have been busy ever since,” Martin says. The company has more than tripled its revenue in less than four years and added a second location in Alexandria.
Offerings have expanded to include microschooling and early childhood literacy, and Studyville now also offers tutors in Georgia, North Carolina and Florida.
Read the full story, and check out features on this year’s other WIB honorees.
