Biography

I grew up in Palo Alto and I attended Paly for high school. After graduating, I went on to Tulane University in New Orleans where I studied economics. After two years, I added a minor in math because I missed the experience of learning math that I had in high school. During my college studies, I found that many of the things I learned in high school math were critical building blocks to a wide variety of courses I was taking, so I believe in the importance of a strong foundation in high school math. I want my students to have the tools they need to succeed in their future studies and careers. 

I picked up tutoring for the first time as a volunteer at the Academic Resource Center at Paly during my high school years. During my summers, I worked as a camp counselor for CMT (Christian Music Theater), which produced musical theater performances following two-week sessions of preparation. As a senior in high school, I volunteered in a program called Matemagos. The program, conducted in Spanish, involved one-on-one after school tutoring for elementary school students to review math concepts through interactive activities. At Tulane, I had the opportunity to volunteer as a teaching assistant at Eleanor McMain High School as a part of a course that taught the craft of teaching and involved a service component which allowed me to apply what I was learning in class to my own instruction.

As a tutor, my mindset is that persistence is the key to success at learning, especially with math. I enjoy challenging students to attempt to solve problems slightly ahead of what they may think they can handle in order to build their confidence. I try to direct students to work through problems by giving them the background information and coaching them through the critical thinking and problem solving skills they need to be able to do further work independently. When I present information, I always want to make concepts as simple as possible because all too often students can be overwhelmed when they are first introduced to a new topic.

In my down time, I like to read, watch college football games, go to the beach, and chase my dog around the park.