PrepNow Tutor - Leyla H.
An optimistic and upbeat tutor, Leyla focuses on solutions. “I believe hard work will be rewarded,” Leyla says. She attended the University of North Carolina, where she earned two degrees: a BA in romance languages with a concentration in Spanish; and an MA in teaching. After college, Leyla went straight to the classroom, teaching high school Spanish for several years before transitioning to the private sector and working as a translator and bilingual specialist. However, Leyla couldn’t stay away from education for long and has been giving lessons and seminars on test-taking skills and strategies within her community regularly throughout her fifteen-year career.
“I come from a family of educators,” Leyla shares when asked what led her to start tutoring. Leyla's first tutoring experience was in a literacy program for elementary students, which soon expanded to assisting in music and Spanish classes. Throughout her translating career, Leyla has also tutored math, language arts, and test prep. In high school, Leyla had a teacher who taught her ‘tricks’ of test-taking. “That lesson unlocked a secret code for me, and it relieved my test anxiety,” Leyla recalls, explaining that after studying education and learning how tests are made, she’s since decided to pay the lesson forward. “I’ve freely shared this secret with every student I’ve had, and I can often see the weight lifted from their shoulders.”
Leyla’s teaching style is student-centered. “My goal is always for the student to actually understand the material and grasp the concepts being taught, not just to provide ‘correct’ answers,” she says. Leyla respects that each student learns in their own way, and she conforms to how they learn rather than expecting them to conform to how she teaches. “I aim to be as helpful and engaging as possible.” Overall, Leyla loves demystifying school and learning. “Life is the hardest puzzle, and if I can help students find the ‘corner pieces’ to get started on their own puzzles, I’ve made quite the impact. And education is never wasted!”
As a student, Leyla played flute and piccolo in the marching band, was a cheerleader, a dancer on the dance team, and competed with the Quiz Bowl team. She is very passionate about music and the arts, and loves to read and write. She also sometimes bakes specialty cakes with 3-D designs. “I marched in the 2001 presidential inauguration parade with the UNC Marching Tar Heels,” Leyla says. In addition to her academic tutoring, Leyla has also taught flute.
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