Since I was very little, mathematics has always been a fascinating world for my mind. When I finally started my dual majors Mathematics/Physics, I discovered how much Mathematics is very important for sciences, and I fell in love with it. This love made me study it more than required for my degrees. I can remember that instead of sleeping, I spent many of my nights trying to prove some theories that were usually not at my level, and I enjoyed reading a lot "Godel, Escher, Bach".
During those times, I also loved helping in mathematics, my brother and sister and even some cousins of our large African family. I remember that most of the time, I usually fell in love with the problems more than them. It was one of the best moments of my life, because I always felt good during and after we got done. This love helped me to graduate quickly as the first in my class and with a dual degree in baccalaurat in Mathematics and Physics, and I ended up studying Pure Mathematics at the University of Lom.
While I was still doing this interesting study, I was given the opportunity to become a private tutor and mentor for some students who were in their last year and had a few weeks left for them to take their baccalaurat exams in Mathematics and Physics. It was a wonderful time in my life. Helping them understand and find a smooth transition between calculus, functions, conics, linear and finite applications, algorithms, probability... at their level, was my joy at the extreme. I loved it a lot.
Then one day, I got the opportunity to leave Togo, to study here in United States. Now, I am currently studying Electrical Engineering, and I will graduate by next year. I am very interested in transforming my mathematics skills into a power to create an unprecedented revolution in the whole field of Engineering particularly control system, telecommunications, electrical engines, modern aircraft and spacecraft, etc. The second semester following my arrival in Purdue School of Engineering and technology at Indianapolis, I got the opportunity to start tutoring and mentoring IUPUI students who are having difficulty in Mathematics, essentially in Differential Equations, Pure Calculus, Science Calculus, Business Calculus, Pre-Calculus, Trigonometry, and College Algebra. At the same moment, I was also given the opportunity to become a Tutor in LSAMP program where I mainly helped underrated, minorities and marginalized students in Calculus. I really loved all those moments.
They were another wonderful chapter in my life. I started working with students from all over the world: Arabians, Americans, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, British, Nigerians, Ethiopians, etc. They are almost of all ages, from teenage to very mature ages. Some of them have kids, and are already working while still attending College for another major of their dreams. I also got again the opportunity to work with some high school students through some programs called Upward Bound and Summer Bridge. For some of those High School students, my help consists in making them understand the difference between High School mathematics and College mathematics. For other High School students, my role was one of my favorite aspirations: helping them change their mind about their past negative ideas about mathematics, and then making them realize how important and sweet Mathematics are, and I successfully did that through the powerful canal of concise explanation, problems solving, and questions.
My style consists in making sure that my students are understanding me by asking them comprehensive questions. Because my years of experience in tutoring and mentoring made me discover that sometimes students tend to make it look like they are understanding the message, but they are not. Nowadays, I can feel it, if they are not understanding the message, but I also manage to ask questions to make sure that they are understanding me well.
In fact, one important secret I discovered is that the key of a successful student resides in what he or she is understanding truly. This is definitively one of the many powerful reasons why I will appreciate to bring my share of resources of understanding into Varsity Tutors LLC, so that our main goal of transforming any student into successful students can be realized, no matter the challenge.
