Graduate of University of California, Berkeley, the premier public university of the U.S. and probably the world, I had studied history and English from some of the most renown historians and literature professors in academia. There I learned the art and rigor of research, reading, writing, and reflective thinking. This December, I will finish a MA at San Francisco State University in English composition, focusing in-depth on all types of writing and how to teach writing to K-12 and university students and business professionals. As a graduate student, I taught a university-level writing-intensive course to freshmen, the type of composition writing course that the AP English Language and Composition and AP English Literature and Composition exams prepare high school students to study for and get college credit with a high score on the AP exam.
I firmly believe that my passion and expertise in writing, literature, and history will help students reach their potential and improve their knowledge, skills, and their passion even if they are not yet engaged with the humanities and social sciences. Knowing many teachers and professors, I also firmly believe that students fall into the cracks of education frequently because of ill-prepared teachers, an overworked system that demands too much time from them without adequate pay and respect, and because most graduate schools of education do not adequately train teachers with evidence-based scholarship and give them the tools they need to succeed. I firmly believe that I and Varsity Tutors can fill this gap in education and in a student's learning by supplementing what schools cannot provide though teachers and professors are very passionate and heartfelt and genuinely care about their students. This is the unique role of the tutor.
I can tutor most writing-related courses: AP English courses, AP History courses, SAT Reasoning (reading and writing), high school and university-level courses in writing, English, and history, and even business-related courses for professionals or business majors. In graduate school, I focused on grammar, style, and different types of genres: essays, business writing, grant writing, technical writing, long-form types of writing, and even creative writing.
My interests outside my professional life still feed into and enrich my job. I am an aspiring writer in creative nonfiction, novels, short stories, and essays, and I am moving into technical writing with also a deep knowledge of technical subjects that are in high-demand in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. In the summer I teach physics to 8th graders and I worked at the Exploratorium, teaching science to visitors. I am unusual I believe for a humanities person in that I also took electives in physics, mathematics, and chemistry in college, which gives me the confidence and desire to move into technical writing.