Margaret

Certified Tutor

I am a graduate of Winona State University and University of Northern Colorado. I first received my Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Recreation and Tourism and a minor in Intercultural Communication, and went on to complete my graduate studies to obtain a Master's degree in Multilingual Education - TESOL. Additionally, I am a licensed teacher for grades 5-12 in English Language Arts.

After graduating college in Minnesota, I moved to Australia to travel with the intention of building upon my career in tourism by accepting an internship at a five star hotel. Soon after working here and traveling, I realized that the industry wasn't for me, and that my real passion was teaching. In college I had worked with our English Language Center students by partaking in communication practice with them. I couldn't forget how much I loved interacting with people from other countries and how much joy I got from helping those students grow in their English language proficiency. So, I continued by education by obtaining a CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults). Through this process, I began teaching English to international college students in Australia, and my spark for teaching was ignited.

Upon leaving Australia, I moved to Hanoi, Vietnam to put my teaching skills to practice. There, I worked for both public elementary schools, after-school English centers, and private classes. I had the privilege to teach students of all ages - from as young as five years old to adults. I loved teaching children because of their enthusiasm for learning and excitement about learning a new language. We played lots of games together to develop their skills and tried to have as much fun as possible while learning. I also loved teaching the adults. The commitment to learning I saw in adults was inspiring, and it was great to be able to have conversations with one another and get to know each other throughout our lessons.

After leaving Vietnam, I moved to Denver, CO in 2018 to start a job as an English Language Development (ELD) Specialist at a Denver high school, where I taught for 2 years. I worked with students from 9th-11th grade solely on ELD. I have taught an ELD pull-out class at this school, where students with lower-level English proficiency are placed in a class together to explicitly learn the English language. Additionally, I co-taught English Language Arts classes. I worked with an ELA co-teacher who deals mostly with content-related English topics such as literature, themes, and character development, while I as the ELD Specialist supported emergent bilingual students in accessing the content by giving them English language assistance. Our school was awarded the ELPA Award of Excellence for the 2019-2020 school year for the exceptional support provided to bilingual students. Also, as part of my job here, I worked to teach students test-taking strategies for the Writing and Language and the Reading tests on the SAT. We worked through these skills weekly in ELA class, and I also was a teacher for our school's SAT Bootcamp. Additionally, I was part of this school's CH-ISA team, which monitors every emergent bilingual at the school and their growth.

During COVID, I chose to expand my teaching experiences into the virtual realm of education. I have taught several virtual summer camps with Varsity Tutors where I taught creative writing and led a literature camp centered on a specific novel. I have also taught with various online platforms where I work with a remote curriculum to ensure students gain knowledge and understanding of English, even though I am not physically there with them.

In addition to working with K-12 students both abroad and in CO, I also have worked with adults. Recently, I taught ESL classes to adults twice a week, where I worked with multi-level students to help them grow in their English proficiency. I also volunteered for a year tutoring an adult refugee woman in her English abilities.

Education truly is the key to success. I believe that every person, whether an immigrant, refugee, citizen, American-born or not, deserves a quality education. I believe it is my job to serve students of all ages who require assistance and support with English to become successful in their academic and work careers.

I am very much looking forward to teaching and tutoring with Varsity Tutors and looking forward to continuing to serve its brilliant students.