Sam

Certified Tutor

I graduated from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University with a B.S. in physics and a B.S. in mathematics. I was recently accepted into the graduate program at UC Davis, where I will study and perform research for several years to earn a doctorate in physics. From there, I hope to proceed to a faculty position at a university, where I can continue to do research and both teach and inspire future students.

When I am not studying or performing research, I enjoy playing video games, card games, or role-playing games with my friends. I also am an amateur engineer, participating in the online community of laser enthusiasts. Together, we construct circuitry, design housings, and align lenses to create not laser pens for pets, but high-powered, scientific lab lasers.

While studying at ASU, I regularly worked with fellow students on mathematics and physics problems that they found challenging. In high school, I tutored a middle school student weekly in organizational and homework skills, mathematics, and science. Because of my specialty in math and physics, I am most comfortable tutoring those two subjects, ranging from Freshman physics through quantum theory and from algebra through more advanced mathematics subjects such as real analysis. Further, I enjoy it! Both mathematics and physics are sciences of problem-solving and perseverance, but once a solution is found, the work is greatly rewarding.

In past experiences teaching and tutoring, I have found that I tend to lecture and use examples to ensure my classmates or students are not only capable of getting the right answer, but understanding why the answer they obtain is the correct one. I find that lecturing is useful to provide explanations for concepts that the student would otherwise have to simply memorize (and not understand), and the working of examples is useful to reinforce the methods and concepts used when solving particular problems. Regardless of how I am working with a student, however, I tend to always introduce a sort of humor and quirkiness that is necessary to set the light, easy-going mood that defines my teaching style.