Adrien: Victoria tutor

Certified Tutor

My name is Adrien and Im thrilled to be joining Varsity Tutors. Im a college swim coach, and Im not sure I could love my job more. However, I miss the teamwork and intensity that happens in academics, especially in one-on-one tutoring. I worked as a writing tutor in college. For me, as many intellectually stimulating moments took place in my cramped little office as happened around the seminar table in my own classes. The connection we build in a tutoring relationship can completely reshape someones experience who is struggling with a subject or topic. Many of us interpret a string of frustrating papers, or bad grades on tests, as a divine sign that we are not cut out for academic work. Although Im not advocating being too defensive in those situationscertainly, protesting that youre a misunderstood genius wont make you many friendsI do think most of us are needlessly hard on ourselves. We waste energy on negative self-talk because we rarely acknowledge the impact of a tiny bit of targeted, focused work.

My primary objective as a tutor is to make you aware of the skills you most need to work on, and give you specific coaching on strengthening those skills. The key word in that last sentence is specific. Everyone understands differently. Even if you are having difficulty with the same topic as some of your classmates, your light bulb moment is going to be different from any of theirs. My job is not to communicate to you, but with you: to learn your style of learning, cater to it, and lead you to your own light bulb moment.

Tutoring sessions with me are very detail-oriented. In a grammar session, for example, I might challenge you to weigh the value of a single word or punctuation mark with a level of focus youre unaccustomed to. Focus on the elements of a craft, whether that craft is algebra, grammar, or washing dishes, is the path toward mastering the big picture.

I live in Buffalo, New York. In my spare time outside of coaching and tutoring, some of my favorite practices are swimming (no surprise there), reading, cooking, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.