Over the past few years I have had several opportunities to work with children of various back-grounds. The more recent experiences include my roles as an English Teacher and Advisor, a Special Education teacher, a Program Facilitator at a summer camp and as a Faculty Member at a theater conservatory. With the youth I have encountered, before I teach them anything else, I stress that they have to first learn what it means to bring what is genuine to a world that severely lacks it. This involves accepting and understanding themselves first and then, through education, developing what they have to offer society. To me, the most saddening experiences have been working with children that have been let down or abandoned by authority figures, like teachers, and have put up emotional barriers that pre-vent them from learning.Sadly, this phenomenon disproportionately affects poor communities where quality education is some-times lacking. Neglect, poverty, and policy have left our nations public schools lagging behind in a perpetuating cycle of underachievement. In my few short years as an educator, however, I am beginning to understand what is effective in alleviating this problem at the individual level. I strive to create a classroom that is a safe place for positive self expression where there is a joy in learning. More importantly, I strive to be a stable and supportive authority figure for youth who have, in the past, been let down.Currently, the achievement gap dictates that the quality of ones education is determined by their place of birth. However, there is hope and, more importantly, there are solutions to this national crisis, every child has the ability to achieve if given the opportunity. Therefore, a successful teacher will not only attain positive results in terms of increased test scores, but will also teach their students to think critically, lead effectively, and unapologetically strive to achieve their goals.The quality of the American public school system does not have to continue to decline; throughout my experiences I have witnessed teachers awaken within their students desire to learn, an appreciation for education, and a confidence to take bold risks. These experiences have given me a desire, with the tools Teach for America provides their corps members, to help make each student I encounter a more self-aware and self-assured member of a world community that celebrates discovery.

Hello! I will begin a Math PhD at Purdue University this fall. Allow me to help you with all things math and statistics!

I am a graduate of Wabash College, a small school in Indiana. I obtained my Bachelors degree in Spanish and Education. I returned to Illinois and have been working as a teacher since 2017 in a bilingual setting. Recently I have just finished my Masters degree at Saint Xavier University. While I tutor a broad range of subjects, I am most passionate about the Spanish language. My experience covers a large range of age groups and curriculum, but have the most experience with elementary/middle school subjects. As a teacher, I have learned there is no student left behind and every student can learn. Not everyone learns the same, but they all can learn. As a teacher and tutor, I believe it is very important to get to know who your student(s) are so you can work together towards a common goal. While it is important to learn, having fun while learning is also a large part of my philosophy as my belief is the experience will have a greater impact on my students if they can have fun while learning . I enjoy watching movies, spending time with family, friends, and sports, especially hockey.

Hello! My name is Chris. I graduated from Wabash College in 2016 with my BA in Psychology and Religion. I am currently pursuing an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Valparaiso University. I have been involved in research throughout my higher education. To fulfill requirements for my Psychology major, I completed a year-long, independent research project concerning two visual processing paradigms and their effect on people who get migraines. In completing requirements for my Religion major, I completed a research manuscript identifying probable causes for the recent rise of religious unaffiliation in the United States. Now, in graduate school, I am working as a research assistant in a Human Sexuality research lab. I love research!In the past year, I have been working in college admissions, which I find very rewarding! Personally, I am analytical and deliberative, two qualities which I think make me a good tutor. I have relevant experience ranging from tutoring middle school students during after school programs to student teaching undergraduate courses. Feel free to message me!

I am a mentor because I wish for others to have the same opportunity for motivation and success as I had from my teachers in high school. My mentoring experience has been primarily in three different areas. First, I have had direct involvement mentoring middle school students in mathematics through my local dentist's office. From there, I quickly learned that no experience is quite as unique or as rewarding as seeing a child have that light bulb moment when they finally understand a difficult problem or concept. Additionally, the lesson does not stop with just academics either. I have found that, in developing relationships with these students, I got to better understand them as people and adjust my methods accordingly. My second experience mentoring comes directly from teaching English to children of all ages in Oudong, Cambodia. Due to my limited understanding of the local language and teaching multiple levels of English at once, I was compelled to be creative to ensure all of my students understood our lessons. I developed lesson plans around the curriculum that featured games, singing, and dancing, finding alternative methods of expressing meaning to be very important in learning difficult concepts. This has had important ramifications for my style of mentoring; creativity and being able to think of ideas in different matters are useful to everyone trying to learn something new. Lastly, I have had the opportunity to extend my understanding of others in my work as a Democracy Fellow. Part of the mission of my university's Democracy and Public Discourse Initiative is to teach constructive practices of engagement and communication on topics of community concern. Through such projects as our freshman mental health conversations and our forum on substance abuse in in the county, I have learned that the best work is done on the grounds of a common understanding amongst diverse viewpoints. Ultimately, I hope to extend my training and the basic philosophy of freedom of expression as a method of making my mentees feel welcome in conversing with me.

Hello! I'm a 3rd-year medical student with plans to specialize in neurology or psychiatry. I previously graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, with minors in biology and chemistry. I have an extensive tutoring background, beginning in high school. First, as an elementary school ESL tutor due to my 11 years of Spanish and Advanced Placement course experience, later becoming a Supplemental Instructor for my college's Psychology 101 courses for 2 semesters. Here I would create and hold twice weekly lessons for challenging material, pre- and post-exam reviews, and regular evening "office hours" for one-on-one, confidential, personalized support. With COVID-19, I was forced to rapidly adapt to both virtual and hybrid settings, but here I learned strategies to succeed, both as a tutor as well as a student, that I still use today! Through my own academic journey, one of these lessons I hold dear is to embrace weakness just as much as you'd embrace strength. Taking time to celebrate successes (even the small ones) has been just as important to my success as reviewing my shortcomings and evaluating potential future obstacles. In this way, I believe my role as a tutor is to elevate each student's unique strengths and successes, while working together to actively and openly spot and address any roadblocks to success!

I have strong commitment to improving my students at any subject I am proficient at. I am more than willing to adapt to any given student's needs to help them learn in a way that best suits them.