"The most important academic decision I ever made was to sit in the front row. In high school, I was happy to pass my AP classes sitting in the back. In college, I decided to make a change and sit in the front row. I have to say, being 30 feet closer to the projector does absolutely nothing, but the students you meet in the front row are everything. They are students not just trying to survive their classes, but master them and are eager to collaborate on that front. Syllabi were immediately converted to calendars and plans were hatched weeks in advance. Now, I am one of those front row students, and you can hire me.

I have a Bachelors degree in neuroscience and psychology with minors in chemistry and philosophy. I went on to Master’s program in neuroscience where I taught undergraduate introductory chemistry and organic chemistry labs for seven years. I spent hundreds of hours teaching in class or tutoring during office hours. I genuinely found all that time rewarding because chemistry is a subject that ‘clicks,’ and when you can give a student all of the pieces for them to have that eureka moment about how the principles fit together, it’s so energizing.

The first teaching experience I ever had was being captain of the fencing team. Coaching is teaching, and this style has molded my approach ever since. The exams are the other team and I am there to help my students practice to take them on. Motivation for that practice is as much my responsibility as the material. I can make chemistry fun and I enjoy doing so, but my real goal is to help a student care about making the difference between one letter grade and the next. It’s important to care because struggling is a part of learning just like sweating is a part of training.

When you tell yourself you have a tolerance or even an appetite for struggling and you drop the shame associated with it, then you've built the engine that can take you through any class. Contact me, I’m the real deal." less...