Magnolia, Queen Anne, & Ballard Tutors
Stephen
I am a full-time tutor and educator. For more than ten years, I've been helping students of all ages develop their reading and writing skills, organization and accountability, and overall academic curiosity and confidence.
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During that time, I've learned as much as my students have. My mom was a resource teacher who helped students with disabilities thrive in the classroom and later worked as an educational consultant for international schools: between my own experience and my regular "consultations" with her, I've developed a pedagogical approach that emphasizes relationship building, student-led discovery, and a growth mindset.
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I hold a Master's degree in Creative Writing from the University of Washington and a Bachelor's degree in English and Philosophy from Concordia University in Montreal. As an undergraduate, I won the MacGuigan Essay Prize and the Compton-Lamb Memorial Scholarship. At the end of my Master's program, my creative thesis won the David Guterson Award.
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I hold a Cambridge CELTA, a certificate in ESL teaching, and have taught in North America and South Korea, in classrooms and one-on-one. Additionally, I spent a year teaching the verbal side of GMAT and GRE prep classes for PrepCorps, a Seattle test-prep company. I scored in the 99th percentile on the verbal section of the GMAT and in the 98th on that of the GRE.
Ivy
As a passionate teacher with an interdisciplinary background, I guide students in their writing and reading skills as well as in science and math.
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I graduated from St. Olaf College with honors and a double major in biology and environmental studies. A rigorous liberal arts college, St. Olaf gave me a well-rounded education and teaching experience to boot. I worked as an environmental educator for three years, teaching students of all ages (from four-year-olds to college students) about the wonders of the natural world.
I also worked as a marine biochemist at Western Washington University, where I presented my research at a final research symposium. I love sharing my academic enthusiasm and inspiring students to become lifelong learners.
If students are going to love learning, they need to feel confident in their ability to succeed academically. I strive to build this confidence by meeting students where they're at. Whether it's improving reading comprehension, essay structure, arithmetic, or anything else, I try to move at a pace that is sufficiently challenging but still allows the student to feel they are succeeding. In this way, I not only help students master content but also inspire them to be active and passionate learners throughout their lives.
Patrick
First and foremost, I am a people person who believes that relationships are the foundation of any positive learning experience. I always take the time to get to know each of my students, discovering their unique learning styles, motivations, and strengths.
I earned my B.A. from Boston College, where I studied History and Political Science. I took undergraduate and masters-level courses where I learned how to dissect historical narratives and understand the choices that go into crafting every piece of writing. During my senior year, I also completed an honors thesis in the Political Science department and was inducted into the Cross & Crown honor society for my academic achievements and service to the community. I graduated magna cum laude in May of 2021 and was one of five Political Science students awarded High Honors.
Since graduating, I have focused my career on student empowerment, working as a tutor, youth advocate, and mentor. In the spring of 2021, I joined AmeriCorps and moved to Portland, Oregon, where I tutored youth experiencing homelessness in writing, reading, math, and science. This experience utterly transformed my approach to tutoring, challenging me to be a more thoughtful listener, a more adaptive communicator, and a more resilient advocate. I approach tutoring now as I did then—building trust with my students, adapting to their learning styles, and leveraging their strengths and motivations to propel them forward. In addition to tutoring, I currently work at a small non-profit in South Seattle connecting high school students with committed mentors, powerful learning experiences, and a supportive peer community.
Ultimately, I believe that we learn about writing to learn about ourselves. Writing is about more
than knowing where the comma goes or when to use a fancy word; it’s about thrusting our inner worlds outward. As writers, we use the levers of language to communicate our thoughts, emotions, and experiences to the world around us. In translating our inner world into something others can understand, I believe that we not only become better writers, but we also come to better know ourselves.
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Kate
Tutoring has been an enlightening aspect of my life for the past 4 years. I am inspired by the students that I work with and emphasize tutoring as a two-way street: one where both tutor and tutee leave the session having gained knowledge.
I graduated magna cum laude from the University of Puget Sound as a Communication Studies and Politics & Government double major. At UPS, I received the faculty-nominated Lora Bryning Scholarship, the Communication Studies Department's W. H. Baisinger Outstanding Graduate Award, and was on the Dean’s List for 7/8 semesters.
During my freshman year of college, I was hired as a writing advisor at my on-campus writing center. It was there that my passion for helping others and my love of engaging with intellectual material effortlessly blended for the first time. I quickly fell in love with the theory and praxis of tutoring and was engaged with the writing center up until my graduation. Alongside being a writing advisor, I was also hired to work on the university’s writing handbook. In this position, I researched and wrote several different writing-based chapters, such as an extensive piece detailing the assets, challenges, and experiences of multilingual writers. I was able to present my work on multilingual writers at the National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing (NCPTW) in the fall of 2022.
I believe that our identities deeply influence how we write. My goal is to help students from every background recognize their strengths and celebrate their unique storytelling abilities. I am eager to assist students with their growth and help them find (or hone) their distinct voice as a writer. I look forward to meeting with you!
Madhura
I am a computer scientist, writer, hobby stage actor, social worker, storyteller, and artist. I hold a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Maryland, College Park. I have a deep appreciation for the importance of the written, spoken and implied word in many walks of life. I am passionate about empowering students with language, research, and organization skills that will boost their learning in nearly every subject of study. I had a fulfilling career spanning nearly two decades at Microsoft, many of which I spent as a content experience designer. Following my corporate career, I worked for a year with a non-profit in the villages in India, applying my problem solving and data skills to the delivery of maternal and infant health services at scale, and another year as the CEO of the US counterpart of the same non-profit, focusing on funding and spreading awareness for the cause. I currently devote a few hours every week to the Seattle Universal Math Museum, spending time with young budding minds to nurture a love for math and problem solving using unique discovery methods and learning pathways.
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I am excited about:
1. Helping students in elementary and middle school develop a level of comfort with using language as a means of effective communication and expression.
2. Helping elementary and middle school students with any science subject that they find daunting.
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2. Helping high school seniors introspect and shape their applications when they apply for college.
