PrepNow Tutor - Valerie G.
“I enjoy puzzles, escape rooms, physical activity, and of course math!” says graduate student Valerie. Not surprisingly, she is organized, adventurous, and always up for a challenge. At the University of San Diego, Valerie excelled academically, which not only earned her awards and scholarships, but also allowed her to graduate from the honors program; her bachelor’s is in mathematics. Upon graduation, she enrolled in San Francisco State University’s master’s program to continue her study of mathematics. She has completed her coursework and is currently working on her thesis.
Valerie caught the teaching bug early. She volunteered as a tutor when she was only a high school freshman. By her senior year, she was working as a paid tutor at her high school. The summer before she started university, Valerie worked with a college junior who had failed business calculus. After working with Valerie, the student passed the course, and even did well! As an undergraduate, Valerie worked in the campus tutoring center. She also served as a grader at USD and tutored independently. Now that she is in her master’s program, she teaches pre-calculus and business calculus for SFSU.
“I love sharing my passion for math and helping my students be successful!” Valerie says. When teaching, she always gives plenty of examples. She also explains problems in a number of ways to ensure that her students have multiple avenues of understanding. Typically, she works through problems to demonstrate how to solve them before having her students take over, with the option to ask for help when they need it. “I believe that everyone has different strengths and learning styles and I try to accommodate those differences accordingly,” she explains.
Valerie is always an active member of any community she is part of. In her church, she volunteered for the St. Vincent Society and the choir. She also worked as a food bank volunteer. As a high school student, she ran cross country and was a member of the Key Club. These days, she swims in addition to running. Valerie has been skydiving and she has also ridden a camel!
