I've been lucky throughout my tenure as a student to have received excellent instruction and individualized tutelage. As a result, I have always been a high-achieving in my scholastic efforts, and have seen firsthand the importance of education in pursuing my personal goals. I value the practice of pedagogy, and strive to develop my skills as a teacher as I work toward my PhD and eventually a career as a professor in communications and media studies.

In my practice as a tutor, I want to pass on the gift of focused, encouraging, challenging instruction to students who are eager to learn. At the same time, I recognize the importance of validating students' efforts as they struggle to grasp new material. Learning is not easy, and requires a tailored approach based on individual needs and strengths. With this in mind, my goal is to identify students' assets as learners and use them to develop strategies that will enable students to master new material. Ideally, I will be able to facilitate the curiosity and passion that drives scholars at all levels to produce knowledge and enrich the world around us.

I tutored students at the elementary and high school levels for three years while I completed my undergraduate degree, so I have on-the-ground experience with many kinds of learners at many levels. I provided support for English classes at the eighth and ninth grade levels, for all subject matters in a third grade classroom, and for all elementary ages in a science classroom. I immensely enjoyed these opportunities to work closely with young minds and to impart the knowledge and strategies I had learned as a student. English composition, mechanics, and grammar, as well as literature and social studies, have been some of my favorite areas to tutor students in, while science provided a challenge for me as a tutor. I enjoy the energy and passion that young people bring to the table, and hope to channel that into approaches to learning that students can use for the rest of their lives.

My goal is to pursue a career as a professor. As I continue my research and move along in my PhD program, I am working to take advantage of every opportunity I can to develop as a pedagogue. I believe in the value and necessity of education at every level, and I recognize the unique privilege I have to receive such focused and encouraging instruction since my early years in public school. I want to pass those skills and that encouragement on to students who need it as I hone my practice as an instructor.