Diamond: Franklin Park tutor

Certified Tutor

Someone once told me that "educating little humans is a mind-boggling process and one that will also enrich your life!" It is the latter that I find to be more accurate and the reason why I love to teach. I strive to create a classroom environment where students are encouraged to be curious and creative, to appreciate each other's differences, and to instill a love of learning. I am honored to be a part of our students' educational journeys.

I was born on a military installation in Heidelberg, Germany. My mother was in the Army, and my father was an engineer. For most of my childhood, I trailed behind my mother and father as they embarked on numerous missions in over 30 countries, across five different continents. I finally returned home upon starting my senior year of high school. Upon graduating from high school, I attended the University of Oklahoma where I later graduated with a B.A in Sociology. After college, I spontaneously decided to teach English in Taiwan. During my time in Taiwan, I learned a lot about Taiwanese culture and language. It was here that I relieved how much I enjoyed teaching and decided that I had to go back to school. In the Summer of 2016, I went back to school to pursue my Master's degree in International Education.

I am now in my 4th year of teaching overseas, and I could not be happier. By growing up around so many different cultures and customs as a child, it has helped me to find common ground with almost anyone that I come across. Most importantly, it has helped me to connect with my multicultural students and their families. In my previous position as a 1st-gradeteacher at the American International School in Conakry, I made it clear to both the students and parents that I wanted to set a positive and inspirational learning environment. During activities, I encourage students to speak in their native language to convey thoughts and feelings about specific pieces of literature or to deconstruct a difficult math problem. By speaking both their local language and English, they were able to communicate and collaborate more effectively and thus were more likely to take risks and learn from them. In my current position as a 3rd grade teacher in Saudi Arabia, It is not uncommon for someone to walk into my classroom and see several students nestled in the reading corner, reading a "Just right" book, or to see students using Seesaw to demonstrate their knowledge of various text structures in a nonfiction book. This free and relaxing environment is what I thrived in as an international student and is what I try my best to replicate for the students.