Personalized Calculus Tutoring: Master Your Coursework

Miki loves the outdoors, especially in Colorado, and makes a point to climb at least one or more of the “fourteeners” each year. So far, he’s climbed Mt. Elbert, Mt. Bierstadt, Quandary Peak, Mt. Democrat, and Torrey’s Peak. He also loves to create zany, humorous cartoons (you can find them at MaxAndBeyond.com), which are similar to the offbeat Far Side cartoons by Gary Larson. Miki was named Tutor of the Year for the Colorado/Texas region in 2013 and in 2014 by our in-home tutoring brand, StudyPoint.

Louise believes that any student can be successful in school when given structure, clear expectations, and appropriate support. She says, "I work with a lot of special education students, and they rise to the same level as everyone else in the class, though the support they need is sometimes different, whether it is with extended time, or flashcards, or some one-on-one practice." In her career as a math teacher, the accomplishment she is most proud of is bringing pass rates on the state algebra test at her school from approximately 60% the year she started to 100% last year.

Outside of teaching and tutoring, Louise enjoys biking, swimming, and reading. In high school she lettered in debate and speech and was president of the debate team, winning awards at both the local and state levels. Her interests include personal finance, foreign languages, spending time with her fiance, and Christianity.

Her background in science and pre-med has given her expert knowledge she’s eager to pass on—in school, her nickname was “the physics queen!” She’s proud to share that her students have made significant improvements in their grades and test scores. “I find joy in helping others through their challenges and when they are able to achieve their best,” she shares.

Gabrielle received a BA in teacher education from Boston College. She also holds a BA in biology from the University of North Georgia, where, as of winter 2023, she is a clinical dental assistant. In addition to tutoring, she’s excited to go to dental school to become a dentist.

Gabrielle sees herself as an adaptable facilitator. “I do my best to strengthen their weaknesses by delving deeper into what is inhibiting them from navigating through certain topics and problems,” she explains. Whether they’re looking to strengthen any weaknesses or tackle higher-level concepts, she’s adaptable and methodological in her approach, often using “illustrations, references from other subjects, analogies,” to find what sticks. Regarding test prep, time-management skills are her forte! “I do my best to engage students' interests and guide them so that they’re able to make sound choices, even under pressure,” she adds.

A Mathematics Olympiad champion in high school, Gabrielle also earned the US Presidential Award—in both 1994 and 1998—for her academic excellence. Her exemplary score on the math regents exam earned her the Regents Scholarship in 2020 and 2021.

A music lover, Gabrielle loves singing in her free time. She was even part of a university chorale that toured all over Europe. She’s currently a member of a local chorale society that puts on biannual concerts and, “each year,” she says, “my school has a joint concert where we sing with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestras!”

Following college, Thomas joined Teach for America and taught high school geometry, pre-calculus, algebra 2, informatics, and chemistry. However, he focused primarily on increasing access to high-quality instruction in public schools. To this end, he has worked as a curriculum designer, an instructional coach, and a tutor in the hopes of bringing the joy of rigorous learning to all students. Thomas has garnered a wealth of accolades for his academic and teaching skills. As a high-school student, he was a National Merit Semi-Finalist and AP Scholar. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Merit by a Michigan representative for outstanding academic achievement, along with the GE Star Award for promise in the engineering field. In the teaching arena, he earned the Excellence in Teaching and Learning award from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, which recognizes teachers with excellent student ratings. Finally, Thomas received the Classroom Innovator Prize for design and implementation of a rigorous, standards-aligned project-based learning opportunity in his classroom.

Thomas’ introduction to tutoring occurred during high school, and he began teaching when he was an undergraduate teaching fellow. As a teaching fellow, he taught multivariable calculus, physics, and computational music theory. When asked about his approach to working with students, Thomas shared that he focuses on “giving students opportunities to do rigorous work in an authentic way that they can easily build into their understanding of themselves as able doers.” One of his greatest thrills about assisting students is the fact that “the student walks away feeling a sense of confidence or empowerment.” Thomas feels that empowerment leads to the development of one’s self-identity as a student and learner “who can solve hard problems, build new understandings from complicated ideas, and communicate their ability to the world.”

During his high school and college years, Thomas competed in equestrian sports. At Harvard, he was the co-captain of the college polo team, and he played nationally and internationally as an undergraduate. These days, Thomas enjoys skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, and cycling. Fun fact: Thomas grew up on a farm that had goats, horses, sheep, pigs, cows, chickens, ducks, and llamas."