Our Tutors

Desiree D

Teaching Style

As young minds are developing it is my desire to fulfill and enrich their potential. To teach is to be patient and to listen to the student. It is to be approachable and provide constructive feedback. My goal would be to determine the student’s weak points and to develop goals to strengthen their weak areas. Be patience and produce lesson plans to strengthen this weakness. Growing up I played several sports and practice was so essential to achieve greatness. This can apply to all facets of life. Work hard and anyone one can achieve. The student’s success would be a reflection of my progress and will always be a motivator.

Experience Summary

I am a progressive finance professional with over 10 years experience in the commercial banking industry. I have obtained a BS in business management and a MBA in finance. I have experience as a team player and have lead teams. I considered myself to motivate, innovative and have a good rapport with people. My strongest assets are math and computers. I spend my days formulating formulas and constructing reports on spreadsheets. I wish to pass on the wealth of knowledge to our future achievers. It would be a pleasure and my desire to tutor in elementary math and/or pre algebra. I pick these subjects because I had performed suitable doing my years as a student. I was a volunteer for the Junior Achievement program. I volunteer to teach an hour once a week to second graders for three months. I accomplished this for two years. It was a rewarding experience. The subject was structured by Junior Achievement to teach banking, government and the importance of people and places in our community.

Patti P

Teaching Style

Education is the most valuable asset we can provide to our children. Each student is unique and needs to be taught in a manner that brings out their strengths to conquer weaknesses. Every student has the opportunity and ability to learn, though tapping into how each student learns may be a challenge. I believe students at any age are inquisitive by nature and should be able to follow a staircase of "why's" until all the "why's" are answered. Constructive feedback through encouragement is a great way to keep a child inquisitive and feel a sense of accomplishment.

Experience Summary

Working in the field of public safety as a supervisor, I have written numerous training manuals and taught adults in report writing, field training, National Incident Management Systems, Incident Command Systems, Taser Weapons Technology, and Basic Security classes. I have been employed for 10 years with the county and recently graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management. My long term goals are to teach at a university and I am currently working to earn an MBA. While in college, I have tutored students in all areas of the degrees I was seeking, including Statistics, various levels of Math, Finance, and College Writing. I often edit student papers for grammar, spelling, and formatting issues for their final drafts.

Erin E

Teaching Style

While attending Northeastern Illinois University, I worked as a Peer Leader for one year for their Peer Led Team Learning (PLTL) program. This consisted of me tutoring a group of students in a one credit hour Organic Chemistry seminar class during the Spring and Fall 2004 semesters. Instead of a traditional tutoring setting, I guided the activities of groups of 10-15 students in weekly seminar formatted meetings. I encouraged the students by initiating questions and discussions that led to conceptual understanding of current class material, often times encouraging the students to explain what they knew to others in the class. I also attended weekly meetings with professor of the corresponding organic chemistry class to review seminar materials and to communicate problems or issues. I also kept a weekly journal documenting the seminar issues and progress and communicated any problems and concerns to the class professor. This was a paid position. Additionally, in May of 2004, I was chosen by the Chemistry Department Head to assist in PLTL workshop training at a teaching symposium at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and later that month was also chosen to attend Chautauqua Short Courses at California State University to assist in PLTL workshop training. These courses were designed to train college professors in the PLTL method of tutoring, enabling them to start a program at their own school.

Experience Summary

I have earned two bachelor's degrees, a BS in Chemistry (4.0 GPA) and a BA in Communications, and I have 12 years experience as a paralegal and legal secretary. I have excellent verbal and written communications skills, organizational skills and an outstanding work ethic, which are a great asset in tutoring. I have tutored in organic chemistry and also helped many students in my classes while working towards my chemistry degree. I enjoy helping people understand chemistry and also believe that in teaching, it only solidifies your own knowledge of the subject matter.

Andy A

Teaching Style

I am grateful that school was easy for me, but I also know that for many children the task of discovering, understanding, making sense of, and retaining information can be tough and may seem almost overwhelming. All children can learn and there is no better way to instill that desire in them, than to work one-on-one or in small groups. All subjects can be made interesting, and I feel I have a knack for making the "boring" material come alive with relevance and excitement.

Experience Summary

Upon graduating from Johns Hopkins with a degree in writing, I substitute taught full-time at the high school and the middle school levels in the small upstate New York town where I grew up. Since my days as a substitute teacher, I have worked as a freelance writer, Senior Editor at a major publishing company, Senior Copywriter at an ad agency, and attended grad school. Over the past 15 years, I have tutored a number of high school students primarily in English, social studies, paper-writing, and general test-taking strategies.

Cynthia C

Teaching Style

Communication and expectations are the top priorities in my repertoire of teaching strategies. I am able to communicate a sense of self-esteem in my students tempered with humor. They know I value them as human beings. In my experience young people are willing to live up to the expectations a good teacher demands. I use a direct, no nonsense approach and have found it extremely successful in all teaching environments.

Experience Summary

After having lived in Germany, teaching ESL in a middle school, I returned to the United States to teach in the Irving Independent School District in Irving, Texas. During that time I taught German, French and Spanish to middle and high school students. Subsequently, I was offered a teaching position for the Department of Dependent Schools, which is managed by the Department of Defense Education Activity. I taught Study Skills and German for three years in the Ramstein area in Germany. I then transferred to the United Kingdom where I taught these modern languages on an air base near Cambridge. Presently I am teaching ESL to businessmen in the Tampa Bay area as a free lance contractor. Having acquired skills in three foreign languages by three different learning methods, I have a good understanding of language acquisition as well as language usage.

Michael M

Teaching Style

The desire to learn is one of the most important things anyone can learn. Whether it be a child seeing science for their first time, or an college adult ready to tackle the real world. I believe everyone is capable of discovering their true abilities sometimes they just need a bit of a nudge to help them find it. I like to use tutoring to help them determine how they learn. While I may employ a method of how to solve a problem, everyone learns differently. Some people are more audio learners while others require visual aides. My hope is to help them discover how they learn so they can maximize their own potential.

Experience Summary

I am simulation programmer with a passion for mathematics and physics. My desire educate myself further has driven me to explore the cutting edge of simulation technology through the physics of game design. My immense expertise in higher level math has given me a deeper appreciation for continued education. As a tutor I have helped others to share this appreciation since I was 16. In the past I have tutored a variety of subjects which include Calculus, Discrete Mathematics, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Mechanical Physics, Electromagnetics. Additionally I have assisted students with programming courses related to C++, C# and Java, Algorithms and Data Structures, and Artificial Intelligence.

Paul P

Teaching Style

I have always considered teaching the most honorable profession. It is a profession where we develop and shape minds to become the future leaders of our nation. As a teacher, I have to be very careful with the knowledge that is imparted in to these young minds. What we teach students must not only prepare them to succeed in the class but it must also prepare for them the various challenges in their career and also in the world. I have always encouraged my students to think outside the box. I give them exercises that are practical, and encourage teamwork in class. I also try to encourage students to participate in class and they rewarded with participation points. To make sure students are reviewing the class materials, I give them take home exercises that make up a significant part of the final grade. I try to make myself available to students either through email or office hours to answer their questions and help them if they have any problem. I love teaching. As a teacher, not only do the students learn from me, I also learn from teaching them.

Experience Summary

I have an MBA in Finance and an MSc in Accounting from Illinois State University. During my three years in graduate school I tutored finance and accounting for two years then, in my last year I was an instructor for corporate finance and intermediate accounting. I also presented several research articles in finance on interest rates and investments analysis. After the completion of my MBA and MSc, I worked in public accounting as a tax accountant for seven months before deciding to go back to school for a PhD in Accounting. I currently enrolled in the PhD in Accounting program at Florida International University.

Robert R

Teaching Style

I’ve always been interested in the application of math and science to the solution of real world problems. This led me to a very satisfying career in engineering. Therefore my approach to teaching is very application oriented. I like to relate the subject to problems that the students will encounter in real life situations. I've generally only worked with older students; high school or college age or older mature adults who have returned to school to get advance training or learn a new trade.

Experience Summary

I’ve always been interested in math and science; especially in their application to solving real world problems. This led me to a very satisfying career in engineering. I have a BS in electrical engineering from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) and an MS in electrical engineering from Marquette University. I am a registered professional engineer in Illinois. I have over 30 years of experience in the application, development, and sales/field support of electrical/electronic controls for industrial, aerospace, and automotive applications. I’m currently doing consulting work at Hamilton-Sundstrand, Delta Power Company, and MTE Hydraulics in Rockford. I also have college teaching and industrial training experience. I have taught several courses at Rock Valley College in Electronic Technology, mathematics, and in the Continuing Education area. I’ve done industrial technical training for Sundstrand, Barber Colman, and others. I’ve also taught math courses at Rasmussen College and Ellis College (online course). I’ve also been certified as an adjunct instructor for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for math and physics courses. I've tutored my own sons in home study programs. I'm currently tutoring a home schooled student in math using Saxon Math. I hope to do more teaching/tutoring in the future as I transition into retirement.