I am a graduate of the Ohio State University where I received a Bachelors of Arts with a major in German. I have been studying German since I was 13 years old. I have also spent many months in Germany studying at the Goethe Institut Dresden and traveling all around the country. Foreign languages and linguistics are my passion. Aside from German, I have also studied French and Japanese. I have come to develop a real knack for understanding how languages work and how they relate. With this understanding, I have been able to tutor and help students from the Ohio State University and the neighboring Columbus State Community College with great success.

My teaching philosophy is simple. I want to help people communicate freely without being self-conscious and to have fun while doing it. I like to encourage students to enjoy themselves and aid them in overcoming the often daunting task of learning a foreign language. Instead of a rigorous adherence to grammar, I believe students openly engaged in conversation will learn fluency and grammar simultaneously. Plus it is way more fun to actually speak a language then stressing over every little mistake with your nose stuck in a grammar book!

I am a huge fan of sports with an extra level of risk. My father plopped me on a pair of skies shortly after I started to walk. When I was 7 I switched over to snowboarding, and at one time I was even recording videos hoping to become sponsored. I love whitewater canoeing and kayaking. I have yet to run any waterfalls, but I eagerly await the day I can! On a more peaceful note, I enjoy reading in my spare time, and I love playing my bass guitar. Music is something for which I have always had a deep love. Expressing myself through instruments has been another great passion for me.

I really look forward to this experience and to helping students of German! I am happy to be a part of Varsity Tutors and can't wait to be working with future students!