Tristan: Duluth tutor

Certified Tutor

I'm a 29 year old who is just about to graduate with a bachelor's in International Relations at the end of August 2025, with a focus on East Asia. I am mainly interested in tutoring Japanese, but also anything related to world history, geography, or international affairs. I have strong research and writing/English skills, so I am able to help with those too!

I do not have much former tutoring experience, but I frequently (and gladly) help people who come to me with questions about Japanese. By the time I'm done explaining a concept they always come away understanding it more. Because the languages are so fundamentally different, I really break down what's grammatically happening to help people change from brute forcing a direct English-to-Japanese translation where it doesn't make sense (which often happens when learning purely from a textbook in a classroom), to thinking about Japanese in a Japanese way.

As for demonstrating my credentials and skills: this year (2025), I won second place in the annual speech contest hosted by the Japanese Consulate General of Boston, in which we had to develop, write, memorize and present a 3 minute speech, followed by answering the judges questions, all in Japanese. I also recently completed a summer study abroad course in Japan. Furthermore, I won my school's Distinction in International Relations for my project related to Japan's bilateral relations with the Philippines and Vietnam, and I completed an independent study course that took a deep dive into the history and nature of relations between the US, Japan, and China.

Other historical periods I specialize in are: 19th century economics and colonialism, World War 1, the Russian Revolution, World War 2, and Japan 1600-present.