PrepNow Tutor - Monica B.
Athletic nerd Monica is adaptable, creative, and compassionate. They attended Denison University and graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s in biochemistry. At Denison, they received multiple scholarships and awards for their undergraduate research. She is currently a master’s student studying chemical engineering at University of Chicago. Since college, she has worked as a chemist. Primarily, she works with surface chemistry to formulate coatings for food packaging.
In 2017, Monica began tutoring—though they had to get a work permit because they were too young to work! They primarily tutored first through eighth grade mathematics up to algebra II. They also worked with elementary students on language arts and reading in addition to teaching Spanish to middle school students. In college, they tutored a range of science courses (AP Biology, AP Chemistry, organic chemistry, and biochemistry) as well as advanced mathematics (algebra, pre-calculus, calculus I and II, and trigonometry).
In addition to her paid tutoring work, Monica served as a volunteer tutor at her high school working with freshmen. Monica connected with one student who often got frustrated and left class crying, saying she was stupid. Monica applied a combination of tutoring and mentorship to build the student’s confidence. One day, she was delighted when the student explained a concept to her before the pair even began tutoring!
“I tutor with questions. I never start a session with explanation,” Monica says. They always begin by asking the student what they are struggling with. Then they ask what the student understands about the topic. “I have them talk me through said topic until they get stuck, then I start my explanation.” This approach allows Monica to gain insight into the student’s thought process so that they can tailor their explanations. Monica also believes teaching is the best way to understand a concept so they usually have students teach concepts back to them to reinforce what they have learned.
Monica currently plays soccer twice a week. She spends the remainder of her time cooking, reading, and spending time with friends and family. She's spent the last year taking a pottery class. Now that the class is finished, she is looking to join a choir. An easy task since she is a trained opera singer who studied vocal performance in college!
