PrepNow Tutor - Alex M.
Graduate student Alex has a passion for educating, as “an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” He received his bachelor’s in mathematics of finance and risk management from the University of Michigan; Alex also double minored in economics as well as Spanish language and culture. While he was an undergrad, Alex was the recipient of multiple academic and merit-based scholarships. He is currently enrolled in a postbaccalaureate program at Northeastern University pursuing a masters in medical dosimetry.
After undergrad, Alex worked as an in-home tutor helping students—primarily Spanish speakers—bring their coursework up to grade level. He taught both mathematics in Spanish as well as English grammar to native Spanish speakers. Of the role Alex says, “This position was extremely rewarding, and I enjoyed practicing my Spanish communication skills.” Alex then worked as a coding instructor teaching a Minecraft coding class. There he managed a room of fifteen students aged eight to fourteen where they learned the basics of block coding.
Alex’s initial foray in tutoring was a free tutoring program he started during sophomore year of high school. He held two group tutoring sessions each week that were open to students from fifth grade through tenth grade. Primarily, he focused on mathematics and science, but would address other subjects as needed. From that launching point, he began tutoring privately. He fondly remembers working with a student from fourth grade through tenth grade and seeing him succeed: “Watching the progression of his academics was one thing, but noting the progression of his character and decency was even more fulfilling.” In the intervening years, Alex has racked up experience in SAT and ACT preparation, college applications, and college essays. He has also tutored everything from early algebra to calculus 2 to trigonometry and probability.
As a tutor, Alex takes an interactive approach. When a student chooses the wrong answer, Alex’s first question is “why did you select that answer?” followed by “do you have a second answer you would select?” He does this to better understand the learning style of the student. “I want to know exactly what went through their brain to come to the conclusion that they had found,” he explains. Especially when addressing test preparation tutoring, Alex strives to “make sure the student understands every aspect of a problem.” He does not allow students to move on to a new problem until “they can explain in their own words why their answer was incorrect and the new answer that we jointly found is correct.” This approach “reinforces the brain’s systematic process in order to come to the correct conclusion, and will train the brain in an advantageous way for the student when taking their future exams.”
Outside of work, Alex loves traveling and sailing! He spent the last few summers working as a sailing instructor in Massachusetts. He was also a member of his college sailing team. He was involved in numerous leadership-based clubs in college like the student government and the Hellenic Student Association. He was also a member of Mathematical Proof Writing! He also studied abroad while at university; Alex lived with a host family in Santiago de Compostela, Spain and attended Universidad de Santiago. He would love to return to northern Spain and hike the Camino to watch the upcoming solar eclipse.
