Experience Summary
Who teaches a student academic success more effectively than the successful professional student?
Due to my love of learning, school has managed to engulf a big part of my life over the years. Throughout my own academic experiences, I've luckily managed to breeze through most challenges with competence. However, I've faced a few first hand challenges out of left field, and know what it's like to cope with frustration. To my credit, I now have a BA and MA, both in interdisciplinary programs valuing connections between culture, art, history, literature and more. Generally, with a high success rate, I found myself always helping out other classmates. While at UF, I volunteered with both high school and middle school students as part of my curriculum. Furthermore, throughout 2004-5, I worked as tutor in a special program designed for college students with learning disabilities. Currently, I tutor freelance, and teach two Latin courses at Florida Atlantic University.
Teaching Style
Everyone knows how daunting it can be to face a seemingly insurmountable challenge. I even look back at assignments I faced, and can remember a certain amount of trepidation with which words like ‘term paper’ were sometimes charged, despite the fact that I always knew academic success. However, I also always relished learning, and can’t remember a time when the world wasn’t exciting, and when learning something new didn’t make me smile. All these experiences have fed my perspective as an educator, and I believe that I not only put students at ease and build confidence, but also help to inspire them and share an avid curiosity about the world.
The interdisciplinary nature of my education helps me creatively find a means to explain things when students can’t get a handle on a particular concept or idea. I’m professional, but thoroughly easygoing, friendly, and even fun. Most of my students thus far have loved me, and know that I can help them reach success by being more of a teammate and partner than just some entity who either spouts information or talks down to them. Strategy, defining goals, and finding the most enjoyable routes to those goals are key to my style, and build a sense of success students never forget.