When I was forced to enroll in a foreign language class in high school, I was not thrilled about it. In fact, it was my least favorite class. I performed well enough to receive an A every time, but it was knowledge I expected to fade away as soon as the class requirement was fulfilled. I continued learning French against my will as a requirement at the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts. A funny thing happened there, however, as I discovered all that knowledge I previously deemed useless started to fall into place. I was retaining more than I thought I was. I actually found myself enjoying my French classes. After a two month stay in Paris when I was twenty, I became obsessed with perfecting my French speaking voice, making the sounds of that language seem natural to me. That was a true milestone, a turning point. With that, my conversational ability soared, along with my confidence. To this day, I believe mimicry is the key to impressing teachers and native speakers when dealing with any language. This boosts confidence, which, in turn, gives way to a thirst to learn more. After taking an Intro to Linguistics class, I became even more enthralled with language and went on to study Italian, Phonetics, and Communication Disorders. I moved to Los Angeles shortly after college and pursued a career in acting. I got a few gigs (starred in a Subway commercial, worked as a photo double on E.R. and C.S.I.), but won most of my bread waiting tables. In restaurants is where I really honed my foreign language skills. There are people from all over the world there, and every day I found opportunities to practice and perform with both coworkers and diners. Now, after 11 years in L.A., I'm back in Minnesota and looking for an outlet to use my French and Italian. I love helping people, and find teaching very rewarding. More than a tutor, I will be your coach, offering encouragement and extinguishing fear and anxiety. I will listen to your goals, and tailor our sessions to fit your needs. If you are in love with language learning, I will share in your excitement. If you hate it and just need to pass some tests, I understand that, too. No judgement here, only results.