Fun Facts

I am a second year graduate student at the University of Texas in El Paso, Texas studying Physical Therapy. My favorite color is purple. I love to draw. I have one not-so-young younger brother (22). My favorite cookie is Mrs. Field's semi-sweet chocolate chip.

About Me

I enjoy being open with people. I feel showing vulnerability every now and then helps people connect on deeper levels. When we allow ourselves to connect on a deeper level, we are more willing to share our experiences and learn from one another. Realizing that we are not alone in our situation and having someone we can lean on helps us build confidence.

In February 2012 through August 2012, I was a tutor for Omnipresent Tutoring. I had a wonderful experience. I was able to not only help children raise their grades in school, but also teach them important study skills to aide them in the future and build confidence in their abilities. The first child I tutored said she had never passed a standardized test. I could see she was disappointed in herself and had lost faith in her abilities. She was a brilliant young lady. She had a firm grasp of her basics and had no problem learning new concepts or retaining information. I tutored her until the point she took her standardized tests. I watched her learn how to problem solve and think critically. At the end of our last session I wished her luck on her upcoming exams. She answered, smiling confidently, that she didn't need it. A few weeks later, her mother called to tell me she had passed each one of her exams.

When meeting a student for the first time it is difficult to gauge what kind of learner they are. I usually present the information to them in as basic terms as I know how. As I do that I pay close attention to their body language-facial expressions, wandering eyes, and so on. Almost every time I ask, a student will tell me he or she understands the material even if they don't. When I do need to repeat myself, I always try to restate the information in a different way than the first time, usually in simpler terms. It does not do any good to repeat a phrase in Greek if the listener speaks only Mandarin.