A Memorable Teaching Experience: I worked with a student who had a significant number of learning disabilities ranging from dyslexia to ADHD and dysgraphia among others. Dealing with these challenges all his life had left him with low self-confidence and even lower expectations for himself. Our initial task was the SAT, but I soon realized that preparing him for the SAT was a secondary concern; I needed to make sure he passed his courses before we could worry about his college admissions. He wanted to do well but would become frustrated and shut himself down when he felt he couldn’t succeed. Through our many meetings, often three times a week, I helped him turn his outlook around. By changing the way he approached academics and building strong study and organizational skills, I gave him the tools that would help him to succeed on his own. Over the course of a year, he advanced from nearly failing out of high school to achieving the honor roll for the first time. I remember I bought my first three-piece suit for his graduation from high school. He then built on his success and became the first in his immediate family to graduate from college. That was momentous on so many levels. We still keep in touch to this day. He has become a successful businessman and is now the proud father of an adorable baby girl.
Personal Rewarding Educational Experience: My creative writing class in college was supposed to be an easier course in my otherwise very difficult semester. However, I think I spent more time on Creative Writing assignments than on any assignment from my other classes. I never thought I would choose to write over 10 rough drafts of a paper on my own before I even submitted a 1st draft for review by my professor. In Creative Writing, I was freed from any learned structure or style, so I had so much fun finding ways to express what I was thinking.
Favorite Quote:
“Sometimes the questions are complicated but the answers are simple.” ― Dr. Seuss
Fun Facts:
I flew a plane and jumped out of one on the same day. …They were two different planes.
I consistently get perfect or near perfect scores on the ACT and SAT standardized tests once they are released.
Interests: Creating art, card games and tricks, attending any kind of live music event, reading anything and everything.
Biography: I was born in India and came to America when I was five years old. I remember learning new words in kindergarten, and rushing home to share them with my family who were also learning English. Education was always the first priority in my family. In high school I excelled in my classes but had a very negative view of myself because of my inability to stay focused during classes and do my work on time. I had to teach myself from textbooks because I couldn’t absorb most information the way it was presented in class. I wasn’t able to do assignments or homework until I became extremely stressed on the night before they were due. It was a vicious cycle where if I got an A even though I had procrastinated till 7pm the night before, then I would procrastinate even more the next time. It got to a point where I would cram obscene amounts of material in the early morning hours before a test. Then came college, where I couldn’t just get everything out of one textbook, where assignments and tests covered material from lectures and other sources. I did not do well at all my first year. Eventually I visited the academic counseling center at my university, and after speaking with me about my difficulties, they recommended I get a number of diagnostic tests done for my learning difficulties. I was on pins and needles waiting for the results, and when I got them I experienced a number of emotions ranging from disbelief to embarrassment to relief. Apparently, there were reasons why I had so much difficulty doing the things I expected myself to do. The diagnosis listed a number of learning disorders that explained why I kept hitting a brick wall in my studies. It explained why I needed to become super stressed in order to focus. The report, however, didn’t solve my problems for me; instead, now that I knew that a brick wall was there beyond my control, I became less harsh on myself and even more determined to find ways around that wall. Armed with this self-knowledge and with help from the academic counseling center, I achieved the President’s Honor Roll at Rice for the first time. After graduation, the life-long struggle I had with academics and the joy I got from helping other students transform their view of the impossible into the possible inspired me to start Choice Tutoring.
Future Goals: I never planned on becoming a teacher, even though my mother had been a high school principal and that four of my aunts were teachers (hindsight is 20/20 as they say). My interests lay in business and entrepreneurship. I could say, though, that I always tutored on some level all my life, whether it was helping my friends succeed in grade school and high school or tutoring in college for extra money. Over time, I fell in love with teaching students one-on-one and decided to make education my first business venture. I have other businesses that are at various stages of development, for example, design, creative problem solving in a wide variety of fields, product development, financial planning, and investment. I am open to any kind of venture that grabs my attention. Despite my many interests, however, I know I will always continue working with my students at Choice Tutoring because it’s so close to my heart.
Educational Background:
B.A. Civil Engineering from Rice University