"I'm Yuka, a first-year English and Information Science major at Cornell University and a violinist with over a decade of experience. My goal as a tutor is to break down complex skills - whether a difficult violin concerto, a tricky SAT math problem, or a college essay - into manageable subgoals that build lasting confidence and skill. I've found through personal and tutoring experience that a lot of seemingly impossible goals are perfectly achievable once deconstructed and given enough repetition.

My most extensive tutoring experience is in SAT prep. I have worked one-on-one with 25 students, logged over 20 hours of instruction, and earned 65 five-star ratings. In both SAT Math and the Reading and Writing Section, I shift focus from surface-level tricks to helping students actually understand the structure of the test and their questions. It is vital to recognize design choices and patterns across multiple tests. I also tutor general academics for elementary and middle school students. Teaching conversational English to 116 international elementary students taught me to adapt on the fly and keep younger learners engaged.

On the music side, I served as Assistant Principal of the Hoosier Youth Philharmonic for four years, leading a 50-member section and mentoring younger players through rehearsals. I currently perform with the Cornell Symphony Orchestra and hold competition gold ratings at the state level. I teach beginner to intermediate violin with a focus on building technique - bow hold, intonation, tone, posture, and rhythm individually, breaking every little passage down, while keeping lessons fun and interesting.

I'm available online via Zoom and in-person near Cornell's campus. Please reach out to me anytime. I look forward to working with you to achieve your specific goals!" less...