My first routine tutoring experience dates back to high school. As a student member of National Honors Society and Mu Alpha Theta ﴾Math Honors Society﴿, I volunteered after school during my junior and senior years to help fellow students with math classes. This was the first time I was able to compare my teaching abilities relative to my friends and classmates. I took note of my observations and experiences.

During my undergraduate education at Georgia Tech and University of Florida, I had countless opportunities to work with fellow students on extensive group projects. Whether it was during a miscommunication among my peers or during the struggle to comprehend a concept that appeared impenetrably abstract, I very often found myself as the most explicit, adaptive and patient communicator within the group. Could it have been my ego? Luckily, I received objective validation from a few of my professors. What follows is a short story about one of them.

It is typical for professors to have graduate students assist with courses by grading tests and assignments, holding office hours for help and conducting intensive multi‐hour exam review sessions just prior to exams. I took a course called Mechanics of Materials at UF and at one time the professor overheard me explain a concept to a fellow student. He asked me to visit him at his office at the end of the semester. After verifying that I nearly finished his class with a 100%, he asked me to work as a teacher’s assistant on the same course the following semester ‐ despite my undergraduate student status. Witnessing my peers prefer me over the graduate students for help was a nice compliment.

Once I became an upperclassman, I joined Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honors society. I was elected as Volunteer Coordinator for two semesters. During my term in office, I co‐founded and coordinated a volunteer program where members of Tau Beta Pi mentored Alachua County middle school students and assisted them with science projects. This was my first experience working with younger students who were very resistant or indifferent toward learning science. Through my experiences, I learned that it is crucial to embrace and understand a student’s point of view.

After my Fulbright Scholarship in Germany, I worked for a Test Prep center and for four separate tutoring companies. Through my various forms of employment, I had the opportunity to conduct SAT/ACT group workshops with up to 12 students, provide Advance Placement and International Baccalaureate preparation, perform one‐on‐one academic tutoring with numerous students and homeschool students with learning disabilities and/or special needs. I was very fortunate to work for one particular company that is run by therapists. They instructed me on how to work with students with certain health conditions or special needs by providing me individualized protocols.

While juggling between the schedule demands of each company, I also worked independently and quickly grew my own client base. During 2011, I needed to one by one cut down and ultimately suspend my affiliations with each company in order to keep up with the demands of the families I served directly. I am proud to announce that since the beginning of 2012, I strictly work independently. This achievement is the ultimate validation of my talents, efforts and persistence. To all of my students and their parents: Thank you for this great compliment.