Leaving Wall Street and Wal-Mart Behind

Catherine O’Gorman spent most of her early adult life getting some distance from San Antonio — only to decide that home and her first-ever professional interest were right for her after all.

O’Gorman, who graduated from Alamo Heights High School, went on to earn degrees in economics at Harvard and Oxford universities, then worked for one of the largest corporations in the world, where a single pricing decision she made could have an impact worth millions of dollars.

After some big decisions and more than a few big moves, she’s now founding president of Bonus Points, a tutoring service for students of all ages that also provides college counseling for high school seniors. O’Gorman works out of the home she shares with husband David Barranco, sets her own hours and has expanded her business to include other tutors to cover a broad range of subjects.

Though she has been tutoring off and on since high school, O’Gorman didn’t make it her profession until she founded Bonus Points in 2005. Her focus has shifted from the national economies and corporate financials to the progress of individual students. In tutoring, she says, “I’ve found my calling. I love seeing kids who are getting (grades in the) 30s and 40s bring in 95s within a relatively short period of time.  This is so much more meaningful to me than business.”

O’Gorman first became involved in tutoring because she was such a good student herself. At Heights, she was debate team captain, belonged to the Pep Squad and dance teams as well as “a bunch of clubs, as an officer in a lot of them,” graduating in 1998 as a National Merit Scholarship finalist. During her senior year, O’Gorman took Advanced Placement chemistry, and her teacher suggested that students who needed help in the subject call her with questions.

Because it had been her ambition since childhood to attend Harvard College, she applied for early-decision admission to the top-ranked school, got in and never filled out another college application. Not surprisingly, her choice worked out well for her. “I knew Harvard had history and traditions as well as a quality education, with students you could learn from,” says O’Gorman. “You can study down by the river in Cambridge, and in 10 minutes you can be in Boston, having Ethiopian food or going to the ballet.”