Melissa: Rockville tutor
Certified Tutor
I graduated from Tufts University, where I received a Bachelor of Science and double majored in Biology and English. While at Tufts, I was the Arts editor for the Tufts Daily and was part of the Writing Fellows program. I helped students with their assignments in classes ranging from Introduction to Community Health, to Junior Biomedical Engineering. I also volunteered as a math tutor. I moved to Seattle two years ago to pursue biotech research. Until recently, I worked at a startup designing a new DNA sequencing technique. I am now in the process of applying to doctoral programs. My personal interests vary from day to day, but I spend most of my free time hiking, wandering around the city, trying new recipes and reading. I???ve also gotten into yoga, and I???m trying to learn how to do a headstand!
I firmly believe that gaining the ability to communicate information to another person ??? regardless of subject matter ??? is crucial to an education. That in mind, I find that many students learn well when encouraged to explain a concept to their tutor, or to visually organize their knowledge before tackling an essay or challenging problem. I love helping students craft concise, strong essays, but I also enjoy the burst of gratification that accompanies a student suddenly understanding a new test-taking technique, or being able to explain a complicated biological process.
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Undergraduate Degree: Tufts University - Bachelor of Science, Biology and English
- SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1530
- SAT Math: 700
- SAT Verbal: 740
- SAT Writing: 800
Gardening, cooking, reading, hiking
- AP English Language and Composition
- Biology
- College Biology
- College English
- College Essays
- Comparative Literature
- Creative Writing
- Ecology
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- Environmental Science
- ESL/ELL
- Essay Editing
- Graduate Test Prep
- GRE Analytical Writing
- GRE Verbal
- High School Biology
- High School English
- HSPT Prep
- HSPT Language Skills
- HSPT Math
- HSPT Quantitative
- HSPT Reading
- HSPT Verbal
- ISEE Prep
- ISEE- Lower Level
- ISEE- Middle Level
- ISEE- Upper Level
- Life Sciences
- Literature
- Math
- Middle School Math
- Other
- PSAT Writing Skills
- Public Speaking
- Reading
- SAT Reading
- SAT Subject Test in Biology E/M
- SAT Subject Test in Literature
- SAT Subject Tests Prep
- SAT Writing and Language
- Science
- SSAT Prep
- SSAT- Elementary Level
- SSAT- Middle Level
- SSAT- Upper Level
- Study Skills
- Study Skills and Organization
- Summer
- Test Prep
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
The first session is a critical opportunity for the student and tutor to get to know each other personally and to establish how the tutoring sessions will go in the future. This first session provides a chance for the tutor to learn the student's learning style, their academic and intellectual goals, and the expectations of the student's class(es). Finally, depending on the age of the student, the first session is also a chance to get to know the student's parent(s) and to learn how the student, tutor, parent(s), and teacher(s) can best work together to ensure the student's academic success. A strong first session can help lay the groundwork for productive, enjoyable sessions in the future!