"The natural sciences, especially their applications in medicine, have interested me all my life. I am one of five children and all four of my siblings have a neurological abnormality or disability. Through all of my years as a student, this drove me to learn more about the brain and the biological system that it lives in. A love of science means a love of learning, a passion which lead me to start tutoring when I was a junior in high school. As a member of the national honor society, I tutored 10-12th graders in history and physics for two years. My methods there included answering student questions and going over practice problems that I would prepare before sessions. I've always found that "teaching/learning by doing" is the best way I engage with students when I tutor, rather than just discussing or lecturing.

In college, I found another field I loved: computer science. Despite only being a minor in computer science, I was a TA and tutor for 2 more years. This means I taught first-through-third year college students. While I would still "teach by doing" in office hours, I also had a 50 minute lecture to give very week. I even helped overhaul the curriculum for one professor's discrete mathematics course, writing all of my own practice problems and lesson plans. I also applied for and was accepted into a competitive software development internship. There, I was the highest-paid intern based on a competitive hiring process.

After graduating summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh (major in neuroscience, minors and chemistry and computer science), I worked for two years. The first year was as a fifth grade math teacher. There, I learned not only have to teach the material but how to communicate with a student's family. That year taught me how learning is a team effort, and much more than a good curriculum is necessary for academic success. This means that I had to work with parents to find learning techniques, teaching styles, and environmental conditions that helped their children learn best." less...