Lena: Chino tutor

Certified Tutor

I am a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis originally hailing from Oakland, California. I graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor's in Latin American Studies, Spanish, and Writing. I gained extensive tutoring experience from my years as a student tutor and leader at the organization "Nios, Cambios, Puertas," which works to prepare youth from the St. Louis community for college. I have worked with kids of all ages (and loved it!), from practicing times tables with elementary schoolers to ACT prep and college application brainstorming with high school seniors. I have instructed students privately for years in all subjects of the ACT, with an emphasis on English and Reading. Additionally, after over fourteen years of Spanish classes and six months abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I have become completely fluent in Spanish (including reading, writing, and speaking) and enjoy drawing on my experience as a second-language learner to tutor other students in Spanish. I have an academic background in Spanish linguistics, which allows me to explain grammatical concepts in more nuanced terms that help my students understand the cognitive processes that underlie sentence constructions.

I believe in a discussion-based tutoring strategy that allows my students to solidify and reflect on what they're learning through voicing their opinions and sharing their stories. I have a passion for storytelling and creative writing, and I love to bring a creative lens to every subject. I try to help my students relate to the material through their own life experiencesI absolutely love getting to know my students' stories so that I may connect with them on a personal level and tailor my instruction to their strengths.