Amy: Rensselaer County tutor

Certified Tutor

I am a graduate of Brigham Young University (BYU) and the University of San Diego (USD). From BYU, I received my undergraduate degree (B.A.) in French with a minor in Journalism as well as a graduate law degree (J.D.). From USD, I received another graduate law degree, an LL.M. in Tax. I sometimes think about going back to school to study Math, Physics, and Vocal Pedagogy.

While in school, I reported and copy edited for the school newspaper. I also was a staff editor and then the executive editor of a law journal. In my spare time I role-played daily scenarios in French to help students practice the language.

Since school, I have been involved in some varied education-related experiences. I wrote the script for an LSAT test prep audiobook, taught paralegal and general education classes, including English grammar and writing, to adult learners at a vocational technical college, spent several years helping children ages 3-11 learn music, taught music and drama after-school classes to children ages 5-9, and volunteered to help under-privileged children of all ages finish their homework as part of the "Books and Basketball" program. For my day job, I have mastered powerpoint, as I am often asked to teach tax law concepts to my colleagues. I love translation and have been lucky enough to do some French-to-English translation work post-school, including my favorite types of writing to translate poems and stories.

I like to teach what I know: whatever I know to whomever will listen! I feel that I am best with language-related subjects, though, because those subjects come easiest for me and so I can more quickly adapt teaching strategies to different learning styles.

I think learning is discovery and is an intrinsic part of our humanity. Unfortunately, sometimes we forget that learning is the excitement of connecting the known with the new. Instead, we mistake memorization for learning. While memorization can be important, and sometimes even necessary, it is not the end goal and will never satisfy. What we want -- what I want when I approach something new -- is to be more capable after study than before. I encourage questions; sometimes the process of trying to formulate a question provides the answer, even as it outlines the shape of new realms of knowledge to discover.

As you have probably discovered, I like to teach, I like languages, and I like music. I also enjoy reading, swimming, hiking long distances (the last long hike was 102 miles in the Cotswolds in England), cooking, sewing, crocheting, beading, and handcrafting in general. I seem to spend more time than I should thinking about renting space at a craft fair to try to unload the results of these hobbies.