Biography

I realized at a young age that I love learning, especially topics related to history and literature. As I progressed through school, I discovered that I enjoyed helping others in subject areas that I enjoyed. After graduating from Azusa Pacific University, I attended the history graduate program at Cal State University Bakersfield in order to pursue a master’s degree in Modern American History. While I was in the program, I was the Lead Athletic Tutor for the CSUB Athletics Department. I mainly worked with the Women’s Basketball Team and I developed a passion for tutoring students. I tutored in many different subjects and had great success in keeping our student athletes eligible. I found that in many subjects students were capable of understanding the material, but they did not know how to take notes nor how to organize the ideas and concepts. With some focus on organization and study skills, the students’ confidence rose, which allowed them to succeed.

After graduating from CSUB, I moved back to San Jose and began teaching at Valley Christian High School. I taught several subjects, including: AP US History, AP American Government, AP Comparative Politics, US History, Government, and Theater History. I love teaching and I believe that every student matters. I strive to connect with each student, no matter how long it takes. I know that history is often a chore, often due to the focus on rote memorization. In order to make History and English more accessible, I put the focus on the narrative and the relationship between ideas and people. I also incorporated games and competition, which for some students was a motivation for buying in.

After teaching at Valley for 5 years, I made the transition to public school. I worked as a 1 on 1 aide for 2 years at Willow Glen High School. I had the privilege to be hired as the teacher for the Moderate to Severe Autism Program at Willow Glen, which I did for two years. I taught all subjects, in addition to case managing 12 students and their IEPs. I learned a lot about differentiating lessons and teaching styles so that every student can access curriculum and learning. I am most proud of guiding my students through reading an entire book in English class and analyzing several primary sources in History.

I am excited to be tutoring in English and History, which have always been my favorite subjects. In my free time, I love watching Professional Wrestling and hanging out with my bulldog, Tallulah. I am a huge Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Star Trek fan. In the last two years, I have become fascinated with comic books and have had great success utilizing comics in both English and History.